Anna turns famous
by yohnagirl4eva
Summary: What happens when Anna leaves Yoh and starts a new life in America? Can Yoh make up for his mistakes? Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King, or any of the celbrities in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Anna sat in her room thinking about what she should do. 'He doesn't love me and is making a laughing stock of me. I can't stay here anymore. I've done what Kino wanted me to do, therefore I don't need to stay. Yoh is Shaman King now. I can move on.' She thought to herself. 'If only it were that simple.' She thought to herself. Coming to a decision Anna got up from her seat in the window and began to pack a small suitcase with everything she wanted to take with her. She was startled to see that even with all of her possessions the suitcase wasn't full. Once that was done Anna went to sit downstairs in the living room, waiting for Yoh and the others to get back. She had an envelope in her lap that she would give Yoh before she left.

After sitting there for an hour, running through what she was going to say in her head, there was the sound of laughter and chattering as the gang returned from wherever they'd been. Anna braced herself for the next step as she heard them approaching the living room door.

"Anna?" Anna stood and turned to the doorway where the whole gang was looking at her, slightly puzzled by the look on her face. The only people who were used to seeing any sort of emotion on her face were Jun, Tamoa, Pirika and Eliza. Yoh had thought he'd seen it every now and then, but had always convinced himself that it must have been a trick of the light.

"Yoh, I need to speak to you alone for a moment." She stated blankly. The others exchanged glances, the girls slightly worried about what was going on. They loved Anna, she was great, the girls all got together a coupe times a month and just hung out or pampered themselves, gossiping and sharing stories and secrets about themselves and each other. Anna knew that she was going to miss them a lot. She wished there ws a way to do this without leaving them behind, but she knew that she would just be reminded of Yoh every time she saw them, and she wasn't sure she was strong enough to take that.

Yoh looked slightly suprised, although she didn't miss the flicker of alarm in his eyes and was saddened by it. "Er, ok." He replied. He turned to the rest of the gang who nodded and went into the kitchen, although they left the door open so that they could hear what was being said, after all, they didn't want them to get hurt or anything. Once they'd gone, Yoh walked towards Anna. "So, what's this all about?" He asked a little nervously, scared that she had discovered his secret.

"Yoh, what do you know about my abilities as an itako?" She asked him, gently, something which only served to unnerve the boy more.

Yoh looked a little suprised by the question, and just shrugged. "I don't know. Not a lot I guess. Just what Grandma's told me, that you have to work hard on controlling your emotions and that you can channel spirits. She told me that there are occasionally other abilities that go with it, but she never specified what they were." He told her. "Why? Is something wrong?" He asked, a little worried.

Anna nodded, but ignored his questions. "You're right, there are other abilities that go with it, usually things like premonitions or empathy. The rarest of these is reishi. This is where an itako can read what is in a persons mind and heart. It's the main reason that itakos have to keep a lid on their emotions. They have so many other peoples emotions and thoughts runnign through them that they need some way to distinguish their own from those they're reading and feeling from others." She explained.

Yoh nodded in understanding. "Ok, still don't see where this is going though." He told her.

Anna sighed. "Yoh, would you like to take a guess at which of these abilities I have?" She asked, slightly sadly.

Yoh thought about it. "Er, premonitions?" He asked, deciding to hazard a guess.

Anna sighed. "No Yoh, I don't have premonitions. I have reishi. That's how I know when you're in trouble, how I know what you say about me, what you call me behind my back, and how I know when you're lying to me."

"Anna I -" Yoh started, wanting to explain that he didn't mean what he called and said about her when she wasn't around.

"Don't Yoh. . . For a long time I've trusted you enough that I didn't use my reishi to check whether or not you were lying to me. But a few months ago I found that things you were telling me and things that the others were telling me weren't adding up. I began to realise that you had been lying to me, so I tried to figure out what you had been lying to me about. My reishi soon filled in that blank for me. I could see it, feel it in your heart. The strong affection, and regard you had for another. For Mia. You can't imagine how it felt to realise that I had been humiliated and made a fool out of by the person I loved more than anything or anyone else in the world. Then to make it worse I saw you with her. In the park, with all her friends. Not even your friends were there. They don't know about her do they? I know for certain that the girls don't, we care too much for each other to not tell each other things like this. . .It really hit home that I couldn't keep fooling myself, so I'm leaving. I've done what I was sent here to do, you're Shaman king, if you decide to stop training, then I won't be held responsible for the outcomes, but I doubt that you will be shaman king for long."

Yoh tried to top her. "Anna, please-" He began, but Anna just shook her head sadly.

"No Yoh. I won't stay. I just wanted to ask you how long it has been going on? I'm not sure I really want to know, but I need to, so that I can train myself to stop this from happening to me again." She told him, looking him in the eye for the first time.

Yoh, for the first time in his life, could see the emotion plainly in Anna's eyes. He was saddened by the hurt and betrayal he saw there , but knew he had no one but himself to blame for it. He couldn't stand it and turned away, instead looking intently at the floor. "5 months." He muttered, half hoping that she wouldn't hear him.

"Hm, well, that's about everything. Here, I just wanted to give you this before I left. I wasn't sure you'd find it if I left it somewhere in the house." She told him, handing him the envelope in her hand.

Yoh looked up to see the envelope in her hands. Slowly he took it from her, as though she would just fade away when he took it. Which he guessd, in a way she would. As soon as he took that envelope firmly in his own hands she would leave, walk out of his life forever. Was that what he really wanted? He knew that it wasn't, but he wasn't sure he had any right to demand that she stay, not after what he had done to her. Hesitantly, Yoh reached out and took the envelope from her.

Anna nodded to him, taking one last look around the room before she walked out, heading down the hall towards the front door. Yoh could hear the bangs and the thundering footsteps as his friends all ran after her. "ANNA!" They shouted.

Anna paused and turned to face them in the doorway, halfway out the front door. "Yes?" She asked.

"Please don't leave." They begged her. Saddness on all of their faces.

She gave them all a sad smile. "I'm sorry but I have to. I can't be around here any more. I wish I could, I'm really going to miss you all, but I have to leave. Just know that I'll always be looking out for you." She told them, giving them all one last hug before she left, only the girls not shocked at he actions as she hugged them.

They all stared after her as she walked away until she was out of sight, when they rounded on Yoh. "Yoh how could you do that to her?" Tamao asked him.

"She loves you, you know that?" Pirika asked.

"She's risked her life for you again and again, and this is what she get's for it? Would this Mia do that?" Jun asked, hands on her hips, all four of the girls glaring at Yoh for having caused such a lovely girl so much pain.

Yoh looked down, unsure of what to do or say. "I don't know. I never knew how Anna felt. I thought she just did what she did because my family told her to." He told them.

They all looked at him, the girls angry and the guys not sure what to make of the latest development. They never thought that Yoh had it in him to have an affiar with anyone, least of all against Anna. The girls was just plain scary when she was angry about something. They finally realised that they were going to have to take up the girls' job of mediator. "So, what's in the envelope?" Morty asked, trying to divert everyone's attention somewhat.

Yoh looked down at the envelope lying forgotte in his hands. He shrugged a little then turned it over to open it, pulling out the contents. He opened to paper to find another smaller enveolpe which had been papercliped to a letter of some kind. It didn't take long for Yoh to figure out who had written the letter, he could recognise Anna's elegant script anywhere. He pulled the envelope out of the way and read through what she had written, sinking into a chair halfway through, his distress clearly etched onto his face.

'Yoh,

I'm not really sure what I should put here, but as I knwo that I won't be around when you read this, then I don't need to worry about what you'd think of me. By now it has been revealed that I know all about your relationship with Mia, about how far it has developed and how much further it is likely to go.

I won't deny that it hurt when I found out, it did. Icried myself to sleep for a week over it, as I found I could no longer kid myself into thinking that you loved me, or even cared about me. Or maybe you do care and that's why you kept it a secret, you know, what I don't know can't hurt me sort of attitude?

But I wanted the opportunity to tell you a few things that I know I wouldn't have been able to tell you face to face, because, believe it or not, I get scared too. The others have seen it. Are probably the only ones to do so, but whenever you're hurt, or something dangerous happens to you, I get scared thinking that I'm going to lose you. That time you let Tokegero possess you I cried, thinking that you were going to end up dead. I'm not sure what freaked Morty out more, seeing his best friend possibly about to kill himself or seeing me cry, you'll have to ask him, although my moneys on the latter option.

I wanted you to know that I know what you all say and think about me. But it's not true. I do feel, I just don't let it control me, I don't let it rule me like all of you do. If I did there would be severe consequences, the likes of which would make Hao's attempt at destroying the world seem somewhat pathetic. But I did care. I checked on all of you every night when you went to sleep, I couldn't sleep myself until I knew that you were all ok. I told you that you couldn't go and rescue Len so that you would. I've known you since you were a child Yoh, sadly that means I know how to manipulate you, to get you to do what I want. I knew the easiest way to get you to go after Len without some form of arguement was to tell you you couldn't do it. That way you would sneak out the first time I turned my back.

That means that I also know you well enough to know what your strengths and weaknesses are, sleep and lazinees being the stroger of your weaknesses. That was why I had to make sure I scared you, that I could control you somhow. How else would I have managed to get you to run all those laps and go along with the rest of my special training program if I wasn't in the least bit intimidating?

I know you too well to knwo that nothing else would have worked. I just hope that you can forgive me for my actions, like I have forgiven you for yours. I know that you may think that you have nothing that you need to be forgiven for, but should you ever find that the girl you love doesn't love you in return and makes a laughing stock out of you the way you have me, then maybe you'll understand. Although I wouldn't wish this pain on you, as it is quite unbearable.

In order to help make up for all the crap I've put you through over the years, I've enclosed a little gift of sorts for you and your friends to enjoy. There's an extra place as I thought you'd probably want to take Mia with you, but if someone can't or doesn't want to go, just sell the tickets or give them to someone else who does want to go.

Well, I guess all that's left to say is good luck, and that I wish you well. I can only hope that you wish the same for me.

Yours,

Anna

xxx'

Yoh took a deep breath, trying to push back the tears in his eyes as he read her letter, unable to believe what an effect she had had on him.

Slightly worried about the effect of the letter, the others all grouped around him, even the girls forgot their anger for the moment so that they could make sure that their friend was alright. "Yoh? Yoh, buddy, are you alright?" HoroHoro asked him tentatively.

Unable to speak Yoh just handed him the letter which he read aloud to the others, all of them finding themselves in a similar emotional state to Yoh by the end of it. There wasn't a dry eye in the inn, even the spirits were in tears, although the guys tried their best to conceal their tears whereas the girls just let them fall freely, each seeking comfort in their crush, Pirika clinging to Len, Tamao to HoroHoro, Eliza to Faust and Jun to Pailong.

After several minutes of crying and mourning Anna leaving them the girls bucked themselves up and tried to formulat a plan, knowing that for now they had to be there for Yoh. They were still angry at him, and probably would be, but they had faith that in time Yoh would realise his mistake and fate would bring Anna back to him, although they would make sure that they boy had to work to get her back. "Right, well, it's not going to do any good crying anymore is it? What shall we do?" Jun asked, the other girls nodding in agreement, knowing that they needed to take charge of the situation.

"Wait, we haven't seen what's in the other envelope yet." Morty pointed out. "Anna said place, so is it a trip somewhere or something?" He mused, turning to look at Yoh again.

Yoh blinked having forgotten about the second envelope that was still resting in his hand. He looked down at the envelope and carefully pulled it open, he pulled out the contents and gasped. There on his lap sat 12 tickets to the Boblove concert, 12 VIP bcakstage passes and a slip of paper with the date and time that a hummer limo had been arranged to come and pick them up at the inn.

The others gasped when they saw what was in it, all of them knowing how much it must have cost for Anna to set up. Especially the VIP passes as well.

Meanwhile, Anna had gotten to the train station and was now sat in a seat on her way to Tokyo where she would get the first plane out of Japan to wherever was furthest away from Yoh and the inn.

It didn't take her long to reach the airport where she joined the queue for the inquiries desk. After waiting nearly an hour she finally reached the front and was called over to one of the clerks that was serving, who apologised for the long wait. "I'm terribly sorry about your long wait madam, we had a problematic customer and then all our systems crashed." The woman told her, looking slightly tired.

Anna gave a small smile in understanding. "That's ok, I don't mind." She assurd the woman, who smiled at her genuinely this time.

"How may I help you today?" She asked.

"Well, I need to get out of Japan as soon as possible. I don't really care where I go, but the further away the better." She told her.

The woman looked a little suprised but nodded and tapped a few keys on her computer. "Er, would you mind if I asked you why you need to get away so quickly?" She asked a little hesitantly.

Anna gave another small smile and shook her head. "Of course. You see, I fell in love with this guy. Loved him since I was young and known him since I was 3. He was entered into this competition which I helped him to win. Without my training heprobably wouldn't have won. Then a week ago I found out that he had been having an affair with some other girl behind my back. A girl who knew me and moved in my social circles. I have no doubt that everyone was laughing at me behind my back, and now I can't stand to be anywhere near him. I want to be as far away from him as possible." She told the woman.

The woman looked appalled. "How could anyone do that to a pretty girl like you? He must be out of his mind." She decided, causing Anna to smile slightly. "Well, I have a seat on a flight to LA, would that be ok? Although I would need to ask you a few questions first, just procedure, but they can seem rather rude." She apologised.

Anna smiled and nodded. "That sounds great. Ask away." She told the woman who smiled at her.

"Ok, first of all, I need to know your full name." She told her.

"Annabelle Rose Kyouyama." She replied.

"That's beautiful. Ok, how old are you?" She asked.

"18" Anna replied, having just turned 18 3 weeks ago, not that she or any of the others had celebrated that fact.

"Ok, have you got your passport with you, just so I can take the number down?" She asked.

Anna nodded and handed the woman the passport, who then handed it back to her a few minutes later. "Stupid wuestion, but I have to ask anyway. What is your purpose in going to LA?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

Anna grinned at her. "To take a time out and reassess my life." She replied.

"Ooo, good answer, I'll have to remember that one." She commented, causing Anna to chuckle. "Ok, last question, how long do you intend to remain within the USA for?" She asked.

"I don't know, couple months maybe?" She asked, wondering if she were allowed to stay that long.

The woman just smiled at her. "I tell you what, fill in this form here whilst I sort out your ticket and you can apply for a visa. You're eligable, and that would mean that you could remain there indeffinately. Definitely a bonus card to have in your pocket." The woman suggested.

Anna smiled at her. "Wow, thank you. I will do. " She replied as she took the form and bagan filling it in as the woman booked her onto the flight and processed the necessary documents that Anna would need to show.

A few minutes later and Anna was holding all the documents she needed to and was heading over to the American embassey which had a small office in Tokyo airport. The lady had sorted out all her documentation so that she wouldn't need to spend another 3 hours filling in paperwork, which was lucky as she only had 2 hours before her flight took off. As soon as she walked in a kind looking gentleman ushered her over to his desk. "Hello there, I'm Mike. How may I help you?" He asked.

Anna smiled at him. "Hello, I'm Anna. I was issued with these documents so that I could apply for a visa and then told to come and see someonw over here." She told him.

Mike smiled at her. "Ok then, let's just get a loksie at your paperwork Anna, and I'll be able to issue with a visa in a couple of minutes." He told her happily.

Anna grinned at the prospect of actualy being able to move out of Japan, to live in LA, away from Yoh and Mia, and everyone else who had witnessed and partook in her humiliation.

"Alright, everything seems to be in order. Let me just go update the system and print your visa and you'll be off to live in America. Is there any particular area you wanted to live in?" He asked.

"Well, I'm flying to LA, so I'll probably try and find somewhere around there, although really, it'll depend on where I can get a job." She told him.

The man smiled at her, nodding that he understood. "Ok then, I'll make this out so that yu can live anywhere in the US, although in the even of a crisis you'll be listed as a citizen of LA." He told her. Anna nodding, although she wasn't really sure what that meant.

15 minutes later and Anna was walking towards the departure lounge, her ticket and visa in her hands, her luggage already checked in, so all she had was her handbag with her that contained a book, her ipod, her purse and credit card and her ticket and visa. Once she got through security she headed over to duty free to see if there was anything there she wanted. An hour later she boarded the plane with a new camera and a large bar of chocolate. She figured she needed it after everything she'd been through in the past week or so.

She's just settled down in her seat by the window and was taking in the view whilst she waited for the rest of the passengers to board and be seated so that they could take off. She was just gazing out the window when she felt a presense next to her. She turned her head slightly so that she could get a look at the person who would be sitting next to her and saw a tall man, probably in his mid to late twenties in jeans and a t-shirt wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses. Anna felt a strong urge to laugh. She knew that his getup was supposed to act as a disguise, but she found it was blatently obvious who he was, she had seen him in the tv in a movie the rest of the gang had wanted to watch one day.

He eye her cautiously, as though she might be a bomb waiting to go off at any second, but when Anna just looked at him, then turned away, her seemed to decide that it was safe to sit down, and did so, strapping himself in and gazing around him, seeing if there were any other potential threats to his identity around him.

Suddenly the plane bagan to move and Anna found herself somewhat sad that she was leaving the girls behind. She knew that they would be angry at Yoh for what he had done to her, but she also knew that they would look out for him and protect him if he needed it. The man beside her heard her sigh and looked at her for a moment, taking in her slightly depressed expression. "Excuse me Miss, I don't mean to pry, but is everything alright?" He asked.

Anna looked over at him and smiled sadly at him. "Not really, but I will be in time." She told him.

"Mind if I ask what happened?" He asked, knowing full well that he was just being nosey, but somehow he felt drawn to the girl sat next to him, it made him sad to think that a pretty girl so young had such a sad expression.

Anna shook her head. "No, not at all. You see, this guy I was with. Well, I've known him since I was a kid and been in love with him for almost as long. We were engaged, then a week ago I found out that he's been seeing some other girl for 5 months behind my back. A girl I know, who I went to school with. . . I don't think I've ever felt so humiliated and hurt in all my life."" She mused.

The man felt his heart go out to her, she was so young and yet she seemed so mature. It was obvious that she had her head screwed on straight and felt somewhat angry at the boy who had hurt her like this. "He can't have deserved you then." He stated. At her suprised and slightly startled look he grinned. "I believe that everything happens for a reason, and whilst it may hurt now, I believe that you will meet someone who is worth 10 of him, and he may be just around the corner. " He told her.

Anna smirked at him. "Really? Well, if I didn't know who you were I'd assume that was a pathertic attempt at a chat up line." She told him.

The mans eyes widened. "What? You know who I am?" He asked shocked.

Anna laughed. "Well, duh. It's pretty obvious. I've only seen a couple of your movies myself, when the others would drag me along with them, but I find them oddly compelling." She told him.

He chuckled. "Glad to know you like them. But shouldn't you be screaming or something?" He asked a little put out at her reaction.

"Whatever for? Mr Bradshaw, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not the type of girl who goes gaga at the sight of a celebrity or movie star. Even one as handsome and polite as you." She told him, smirking at him.

The man laughed at her reaction. "Well, I'm honoured to be sat next to you then . . ." He asked, hinting for her name.

"Anna." She supplied.

"Anna. And please, call me Lewis. Mr Bradshaw makes me feel like my father. He was always one for fomalities, but then that's the thing about parents isn't it?" He asked, smiling at her.

Anna just smiled not answering the question.

Lewis looked somewhat alarmed, worried that he had offended the girl or that her parents weren't around any more. "Oh, I'm sorry, are your parents, er, well, you know?" He asked, not sure how to put it.

Anna shrugged and gave him a small smile. "I don't really know, and I don't really care. They abused me for a while, until they abandoned me in the middle of a forest at the age of 3." She told him.

The man gasped, shocked that anyone could be so heartless. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe that anyone would do such a thing to such a wonderful girl." He stated, a firmness in his voice that shocked her slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I've dealt with it, and I realised that I'm lucky in a way." At his expression she knew she would have to explain a little more. "Well, the way I see it, if they hadn't abandoned me I may not be alive right now. They would have just continued to abuse me until eventually I would have died from the extent of the injuries. I wouldn't have done half of the things I've managed to do with my life if I hadn't been abandoned." She told him.

Lewis just looked at her in awe. "You really are something else. I don't think I've ever met such a forward thinking girl before. The only people I've met who ever think like that are the ones who are in serious trouble." He told her.

Anna laughed. "Well, I don't know about that, but as far as I know I'm not in any kind of toruble, well, with the exception of having nowhere to live and no job to speak of at the moment anyway, but I'm not really worried about that. I know I'll fidn something soon enough. I'm pretty good like that." She told him.

He again looked at her in awe. "Yep, definitely a one of a kind. You don't deserve that indiot back in Japan, you deserve someone who will treat you like the amazing person that you are. You deserve to be wined and dined. To be brought flowers and presents, someone romantic who would do anything for you." He told her.

Anna laughed. "Well, I don't know about that, but I guess that is what every girl wants, deep down." She told him.

He nodded in satisfaction before looking down at the flight safe pager. "Oh crap. Sorry about this, but I need to ring the producer." He told her.

Anna smiled at him. "Hey don't worry about it. I didn't expect you to speak to me at all during the flight."

Lewis just chuckled and picked up the phone and dialled the number, Anna turning away and pulling out her book. "Hey Brad, it's Lewis. How's it going? . . .yeah, yeah, I managed to get a flight ok and am on my way back now. Should be with you in about 3 or 4 hours . . . what? How come? . . . uhuh . . . yeah so? . . .What! Well, couldn't you have let me know a couple of hours ago? That way I wouldn't have left my family and paid for this overpriced ticket!" He stormed.

Anna glanced in his direction when she heard the sound of the phone being slammed down. "Problem?" She asked.

Lewis scowled. "Just a little. I got a message this morning saying that they wanted to start filming early so I needed to gett my butt back to LA ASAP, so that we could start. So I leave my wife and kids to get to the airport, pay twice what the ticket is worth to get this flight and then am told that as the lead actress has broken her leg we can't start filming for another 6 weeks." He huffed, scowling at the chair in front of him.

Ana thought about his problem for a moment before she came up with an idea. "Why don't you have someone else run through her parts in her place until her leg is better? That way you can start filming the rest of it now, and have plenty of time for re-takes. plus the actress can perfect her lines and do them in front of one of those blue screens so that she can be merged into her rightful place in editing?" She suggested.

Lewis beamed. "That's a brilliant idea. Anna, you're a star." He beamed, already picking up the phone and dialling the number again.

Anna just chuckled before she turned back to her book, breaking off some of her chocolate to munch on at the same time.

"Brad? It's Lewis again. Look, don't send the cast home, just get someone to take Diana's place until she's bettter. We can film it with the run through, then once she's better Diana can do her lines in front of a blue screen, then we can digitally impose her into the picture in the place of the run through." He told him. There was a moments silence and Anna glanced over to see how it was going, Lewis giving her the thumbs up. Anna smiled and nodded before turning back to her book, becoming engrossed in the plot again. "Huh? Oh, no I didn't think of it, Anna did. . . She's sat next to me on the plane. . .yeah we got talking a while back. . . .ok, I'll ask her. Yeah, see you in bit." He finished hanging up the phone. He then turned to Anna, who was watching him curiously, wondering what they had said about her. "Er, Anna, did you have any plans for when you reached LA?" He asked her, somewhat hesitantly.

Anna shook her head. "Not really, just find a job and a pad, that's about it." She told him. "Why?" She asked.

Lewis grinned. "Because, Brad, the directer, would like you to be the run through for Diana." He told her grinning madly.

Anna was shocked. "What? Me? But I don't know anything about acting or making a film." She told him.

"That's ok, Diana doesn't either. I bet anything you're better than her. No one on the set even likes her, but she was the lesser of two evils so to speak so we got stuck with her." He told her grinning.

Anna was still shocked. "Well, alright then I guess. Wow, I didn't expect that. Are you sure about this, I mean the director hasn't even seen me, how does he know that I'll be able to do it right?" She asked, slightly nervous at the prospect of acting on a set with other famous move stars.

"Don't worry, you'll do great, and Brad asked you because he knows that just by me talking to you, you must be a good person. If it were anyone else sat next to me, I probably would have just ignored them all the way there, mumbling and groaning about pointless flights and idiot directors and everything. I don't normally strike up conversations with complete strangers. I'm a bit of a recluive in that aspect." He told her.

Anna just nodded before the pair spent the rest of the flight talking about what would happen when they landed and what the film was all about, so that Anna would be up to speed and know what was going on for the most part of the filming. At least, she'd know the general plotline anyway.

It seemed like only a few minutes later that the pilot was announcing the local time and date and what temperature the weather was outside, not that either of them really cared about that. Once the plane was at a standstill, both Anna and Lewis jumped up and made a beeline for the doors to make sure that they were the first ones off. Brad will have rang ahed to make sure that both his and Anna's luggage were put to one side so that they wouldn't have to get theirs at the same conveyor belt as everyone else. Theirs would be anded to them directly and even carried for them if they wanted.

Anna was more than a little star struck with the way that she was being treated, this had only ever happened to her once, when she had gone back to the village of itakos, the one place in the world where she was actually famous, a celebrity of sorts. Which was odd really cosidering the way that her family treated her and everything. THe pair had just climbed into th back of the limo and were on their way to the studio when Anna began to contemplate everything that had happened to her in the past few days.

Back in Japan the gang were still hanging out at the inn, although there was an odd and sort of awkward silence between them all. "Why didn't you say anything?" Morty asked quietly.

Yoh shrugged and sighed, knowing that everyone was looking at him. "I don't really know. I guess because I was scared Anna would find out. I thought she'd go balistic when she found out. Shout at me, that kind of thing, I never expected a reaction like this. I didn't even realise that she felt that way. . . I think I would have preferred the shouting, that I can handle, this . . . this is something totally different." He admitted to them.

"How could you not know how she felt?" Jun asked, slightly annoyed at him.

"I don't know, she just never acted as hough she really cared about me, just like she was here because she had to be, bcause she thought I was her ticket to an easy life or something." He told them.

The girls all glared at him. "Anna already has the easy life she told you she wanted." Eliza told them. All four girls rolling their eyes at the shocked gazes they saw in front of them.

"That's right. When Anna first arrived here she began her own sort of business. It's a sort of gym. She designed all the classes and schemes herself and started off running it on her own. That's where she used to go every day, not shopping like you all thought." Jun told them.

"Yeah, then when it began to get more and more popular she took on more and more staff, added new programs and everything. Then when she found that it was getting too big for her she sold it on at a huge profit, but laid down the condition that none of the staff be fired as they were a part of the business and each of them had rights in it." Pirika continued.

"So you see, if all Anna really wanted was an easy life, she would have left a long time ago. She's been a millionaire since about 6 months after she got here." Tamao told them.

"So next time, maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge someone." Eliza frowned at them.

"How do you know all this?" Len asked, recovering from his shock.

"We used to go out a lot. Once or twice a month all us girls would meet up and just hang out. We'd spend the day out either at a spa or shopping or whatever we fancied really, then at night we would either go out and have lots of fun at a party or a restaurant or we would just stay in and have a girly night. Complete with gossip, romcoms, snacks galore and makeovers." Pirika grinned at them, remembering all the times they had together.

"But Anna never came home late." Yoh piped up.

The girls looked suprised. "Well, you didn't think we'd let her walk home that late do you? She stayed with us overnight but always came back really early before the rest of us had woken up, so that she could make sure all of you were alright."

The guys looked down at the floor, ashamed that they had never gotten to know the side of Anna that the girls had. But they had to admit to themselves that they hadn't really even wanted to see it at first. They hadn't looked, and instead of trying to encourage Anna to be herself they just accepted her for the heartless bitch that they all thought that she was, although they had all noticed her walk into their room late at night, just to check that they were ok. They had all found it oddly comforting, but were wise enough never to say anything about it, knowing that Anna would just deny it if they did.

They all sat contemplating what they really knew about Anna for a while before the girls left them to go and ensure that all the beds were made up as it had become blatently obvious that Yoh would need them to stick by him for a while whilst he got to grips with everything that had happened.

Meanwhile, in LA, Anna and Lewis had just arrived at the studio and were being led into a large building and accross several different sets to where the changing rooms were. Lewis turned to look at Anna when they reached the one that was meant for Diana. "Here you go Anna. THis is your dressing room for now. The girls in there will get you all spruced up so you look the part, then someone will come and collect you and take you to the set we'll be working on. My dressing room is just a couple of doors down if you need anything alright?" He asked her.

Anna smiled and nodded at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks for this." She told him.

Lewis grinned at her but waved off her thanks. "Don't think anything of it. I'm only sorry I can't make it a permanent part, but at least you've saved us from having to deal with Diana for 6 weeks." He told her, smirking.

Ana laughed then turned and walked into the dressing room. As soon as she shut the door, a whole team of stylists seemed to emerge from everywhere and began examining her, all of them cooing at how beautiful she was, all of them thinking that she would be a much better person to play Diana's role. 'Hmm, maybe if we make her up right and she's a good enough actress, then we can convince the director and the writer to make the change permanent, after all, they don't like Diana any more than we do.' The head stylist thought to himself. He turned to his team. "Right gang, lets get to work, I want Miss Anna to look like the real life star of the show. now, chop chop." He told them, ushering them all off to grab the things that they would need to transform Anna into her character.

Whilst they were doing that, the stylist turned back to Anna. "Bonjour Miss Anna, I am Jaques, and I will be in charge of making sure that you look c'est magnifique!" He exclaimed, causing a small smile to grace Anna's face. "What a belle smile you have Miss Anna. We will use that." He told her. "Now, tell me what you know about your character." He told her, stradling a chair in front of her.

Anna tilted her head slightly as she thought. "Well, not a lot really, just that the girls had a tragic background but managed to find fame and stardom with her friends, but ended up falling head over heals for her best friend. Then a load of stuff happens and they manage to get together." She told him, shrugging her shoulders a little apologetically.

Jaques nodded. "Well, tha is the very basic storyline, but I don't want you to worry about that for the moment. I want you to think about your character. . ." He told her. "I'm going to tell you a little about her and then I want you to tell me what image you get of her in your head. Ok?" He asked. Anna nodded. "Ok, this girl is beaten and abused by her parents. Her friends don't know as she is ashamed of it happening to her. She tries to lead a normal life, but her friends begin to get more and more curious when she has to keep ditching their rehursals to get home. Then one day they all follow her home, they see her walk in and hear the shouting, the thuds and smacks and then the screaming and the tears. They're horrified by it, but vow to help her as best they can. The next day they confront her about it, although it's pretty obvious about what has happened to her from the wounds she has. She shows them more and admit everything, breaking down as she tells them how scared she is to go home. Her best friend tells her to come home with him and they'll make sure that she never has to go back home again. He does what he promises and she goes to live with him and his family, who have known her since they pair were toddlers. The friends keep rehursing with their band until the get a gig. They go and they rock out the place, ending up with a record contract. They record and release their first album and are thrust into the spotlight, the media and the public all wanting a piece of them. Things go well, but then she finds out that her best friend has a model for a girlfriend, it's only then that she realises how much she loves him, and not in the platonic sense either. At a party a man sees her sorrow and comforts her, but ends up taking advantage of her vulnerablility. She thinks she's fallen for him, him sweet talking her to get her to like him. Her best friend tries to show her that he's no good for her, but all she sees is him dating a model. The pair come to blows and end up having a huge fight. It's only then that the guy realises that he loves her as much as she does him. But as she's with the slimeball, he doesn't do anything. Then one day he goes over to the house that the other two members of the band share and finds her there, all beaten and broken, sobbing her heart out to them, as one comforts her and the other bandages her up. He's horrified, but she can't bare to look him in the face, so she runs out before he can say anything. He drags the story out of the friends and they tell him what the slimeball did to her. He sees red and goes and shouts at the git, but then his girlfriend finds him and drags him off. He sees his friend sink further and further into depression until she stops eating altogether, all of them worried about her as she loses more and more weight. They try interventions but nothing seems to work. Then the guy tries on his own, and she finds herself crumbling, she admits everything, what happened to her, how she feels and what she's going to do. He tries to talk her out of it, but she refuses to listen, the next day she hands her notice in at the record studio, they tell her they understand but urge her to change her mind. The next concert she does she announces that it will be her last, earning sad looks from her firends, she's the lead singer and they know that no one will ever be able to take her place, not to them anyway. She leaves and the model that the guy was dating takes over singing as she was secretly sleeping with the manager. Somehow the media get wind of this and the guy dumps her. He then quits the band and goes to find her, knowing that he needs to tell her how he feels. He does find her and admits his feelings to her and they share a romantic kiss at the end." He describes to her, really getting into it so that she can get a real feel for the character.

Anna feels a surpised sort of shock when she realises how much of the plot can be compared to her own life. She finds that the picture she has in her minds eye isn't that much different from herself. "The way I see it, the girl starts off pretty sad and downtrodden, she cheers up a bit when she gets the contract and everything, but then gets her heart stomped on by hr best friend. She has a crush on this other guy so then she's happy again, but after what he did to her she's angry, hurt and upset, not to mention ashamed. She gets depressed until she leaves then when she tells him how she feels she feels somewhat relieved, as now the weight has been lifted from her shoulders, it's all out in the open now so she doesn't have to pretend anymore. She begins to smile and laugh again, and she's almost happy when he finds her again, having made herself a life she feels content to live out. . . I think she'll have amazing eyes and an expressive face. She'll be pretty, but not in a model way. She's probably quite petite and curvy, like real girls, not models. Not quite as fashionable, but still looks amazing in what she wears. Probably with longish hair too." She tells him.

Jaques smiles at her. "Brilliant!" He exclaimed, turning back to the people stood behind him. "Well, you heard Miss Anna, that's what we are transforming our fair maiden into, now, lets get a move on before we're all fired." He ordered, causing a sudden burst of movement from all over the room.

Whilst they were making her over, Anna thought about the character she was to play, trying to imagine how it must feel to go through all of that. She found that she didn't really need to think that hard, all the different emotions she'd already experienced, that story barin so much resemblance to her own life story.

30 minutes later and Anna was turned to face the mirror only to see the girl she had seen in her minds eye when picturing the character as Jaques told the story. She grinned. "Wow, that's exactly how I saw her." She marvelled, causing smiles from everyone around her. She turned to face them all. "You guys are amazing! I can't believe how different I look. I'd say almost beautiful. I'd never in a million years have used that word to descrive me." She admitted, smiling for what felt like the first time in a very long time.

The stylists all exchanged smiles, pleased that their work was appreciated, and that they had made the somewhat sad looking girl smile. All of them wished that they could swap Diana for Anna as she was so much nicer to them all, and just a more pleasent person to be around in general really. They all sighed when they heard a knock on the door, Jaques pushing Anna gently back into her chair when she went to get up and answered the door himself. "We need her on set." Came the voice on the other side. A voice Anna didn't recognise so she knew that it wasn't Lewis. Jaques nodded his head then shut the door, turning to Anna.

"Right Miss Anna, it's time to step into your clothes so that we can take you down to the set and have you do your first run through." He told her, helping Anna into her clothes, which she was suprised to see actually looked good on her, and gave her the illusion of a curvier body, which she found she liked. When she was dressed and slipped into her heels, she followed Jaques and the other stylists as they led her en masse to the set where everyone else was waiting for her.

The entire cast and crew froze when they saw the huge crowd marching towards them, a small figure in the middle of them which they seemed to be trying to hide somewhat. When they reached the set Brad turned to them, frowning slightly. "What are you up to Jaques?" He asked, knowing the stylist all to well to know when he was up to something.

"Why nothing, mon ami, just making sure that my charge found her way to the set safely. Now, allow me to introduce to you all, Miss Anna." He stated, as the stylists all stepped aside to reveal Anna, looking absolutely amazing in her outfit, despite how simple it was. There was a collective gasp around the room.

Lewis was the first to recover. "Anna, you look amazing. Way better that Diana would in that outfit I can assure you." He laughed at her.

Anna blushed at the praise. "Thanks Lewis, so what do I do now. I don't know any of the lines, and haven't even seen a script yet." She admitted a little nervously.

Lewis just grinned at her then told her to follow him where he forced his face into a firm line and marched over to the director and writer who were in a deep discussion about something. "BRAD!" Lewis roared at the top of his voice, causing Anna to jump a little. "Why hasn't Anna been briefed yet or shown a script?" He demanded when the director turned to face the apparently angry man.

"Well, if you'll give me more than a few seconds Lewis, I will just grab one for her. Now, move aside so I can speak with our saviour." He told him. Lewis moved over to one side, although he stayed close to make sure that Anna was alright, he felt oddly protective of the girl that had been through so much in her short life. "Hey Anna, I'm Bradley McKintosh, but everyone calls me Brad, You can do the same. Now, as you know, we've asked you to be our Alex for the time being. Here's a script, I'd like you to read it and get to know your lines as best you can. But don't feel pressured or anything if you can't. You can keep the script with you at all times if you need it. ok?" He asked.

Anna nodded. "When do I start acting, so to speak?" She asked.

"In an hour or so. I just wanted to get you out here so that we can do a cast run through and introduce you to everybody before your scene, that way it shouldn't be as awkward for you." He told her.

Anna smiled, knowing that an hour was all she needed to memorise the script. It was one of the many advantages of having a photographic memory. She moved forward to follow Brad as he led her towards the set where the rest of the cast was milling about, all whispering suggestions about who the stunning young girl was. As they approached Lewis cleared his throat, warning them that they could be heard, they all silenced immediately and turned to face the director, Anna to his left and Lewis next to her. "Now gang, I want to introduce you to Anna. She's the one that's making all of this we're doing here today possible, so I want you to be nice and make her feel welcome." He told them, before he turned and walked off to solve some sudden problem that had occured.

Anna looked around her, feeling a little awkward not knowing anybody's names, but the all just rolled their eyes. "Sorry about that Anna. You'll soon learn that Brad has a nasty habit of walking off halfway through talking to somebody, and heaven forbid should you be on the phone to him." The woman in front of her rolled her eyes, putting Anna at ease a little. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lily and I'm playing Monica, the keyboardist in the band." She told her.

Another gentleman stepped forward. "I'm James, and I'll be playing Matthew, the drummer in the band." He told her, shaking Anna's hand as she smiled at him.

"I'm phoebe, and I play the model, Rachel." A stunningly beautiful woman told her, but she seemed really nice too.

"Pleased to meet you." Anna greeted her politely, causing the woman to smile at her.

"I'm Robert, and I play David, the guy who confuzzles you." He grinned, not wanting to say 'takes advantage of you', although they all knew that that was what he meant. Anna grinned at him and shook his hand.

"I'm Ben, and I play Gareth, the guy who discovers and manages the band." He explained, offering his hand for Anna to shake.

"We're Graham and Julie and we play the Steven and Bianca, Kevin's parents who you come to live with." Awomen told Anna, the man next to her smiling

Anna then turned to the bunch of other people who were standing there, wondering how many more names she would need to memorize. "We're just the extras dear, we play anyone of little importance, the fans, the press, the people at school and so on." A lady explained to her.

Anna nodded. "ok, I think I got all that. But I'll still get to know you're names, just because you don't have a lead role doesn't mean you're not important, or worth knowing." She told them, causing the leadsto smile and the extras to look a little startled and suprised, unused to having any of the leads think of them as important.

Lewis chuckled then turned to Anna. "Ok Anna, now that you've met everybody, let me take you over to your seat where you can get your first look at that script whilst we do a quick test take." He explained to her, leading her away from the others to where there were a bunch of chairs all lined up alongside that of the directors, the writers and the producers.

Taking her seat, Anna nodded at Lewis to let him know that she was alright and grateful for everything that he had done for her. This just caused him to grin. He placed a quick hand on her shoulder in comfort and reassurance then left to join the others on the set where Brad was shouting for him. Once he had gone Anna opened her script and quickly became engrossed in the plot, picking up the feel for the character. She found that some of the lines felt like second nature to her already, although when she spotted the parts which had her singing, Anna felt a little nervous, no one had ever heard her sing before, not even the girls back in Japan. She had only ever sang when she was on her own, she even did scans of the house to make sure none of the spirits were lingering around to overhear her. She figured it wasn't worth worrying over now, and she'd cross that bridge when the time came.

Before she knew it an hour had passed and Brad was calling for her to join them on set so that they could shoot the first scene. Anna took up her position and listened as she was told what was going to happen and when she was to move and where to. Anna nodded, to letthem know that she understood then took up her place as the extras and others who weren't needed all moved out of shot to watch, all of them wishing her luck before they left.

Back in Japan the gang had all fallen asleep, each one sleeping fitfully after the memorable events which had taken place during the day. The girls had all bunked up in one room, Anna's, as they knew that they would end up staying awake and talking most of the night, which none of the guys would appreciate. Sure enough, there they were sat up under their blankets, sat in a circle, talking about all that had happened. "Do you think she'll be alright?" Tamao asked the others.

Jun gave a sad smile. "She will, in time. Once she's had the chance to get over the humiliation she must be feeling at what Yoh's done to her she'll come back and she'll be better than ever, you'll see. That's what Anna's like, she never lets anything keep her down for long." She told them, causing the same sad smile to appear on all their faces.

"I still can't believe that Yoh would do that to her. After everything she's done for him. There's no way he'd be shaman king right now if Anna hadn't stepped in and forced him to complete her special training program." Eliza announced.

THey all sighed. "I know. What's worse is that, now she's gone and it's all out in the open we're going to have to actually meet this girl and try and LIKE her." Pirika cringed. "I feel sick just thinking about it." She told them.

THey all scowled, hating the position they were being put in. "Well, no matter what she's like, one thing's for certain, no one can and will ever take her place here." Jun announced firmly, all of them nodding in agreement.

Sure enough the next day Yoh arranged for his friends to meet Mia. He left the house to go and pick her up, all of them speculating about what she'd be like. "Well, this is Yoh we're talking about, in order for him to risk Anna's wrath, he must think she's something special, and no matter how much we all want to hate her, we're going to have to try and like her." Morty admitted, hating each word as he said it. He had grown fond of Anna, and had actuallly started to see her as a bit of a big sister. Being an only child he had always wanted a brother and sister, and he had felt that he found them in Yoh and Anna.

The others all cringed at the thought of haveing to like the girl that had driven Anna away; possibly, never to return. They didn't have much more time to think about it however as they heard girlish giggles approaching the house. They all ran to the front window to try and get a look at her and saw a red headed girl stood next to Yoh,, him with his arm around her shoulders. Morty instantly recognised her as one of the 'bitchy witches' from school, at least, that was what they had all been dubbed as they seemed to think that they were god's gift to earth. Morty quickly told them about who she was, causing them all to grimace, however there was no time for anything else to be said as they heard Yoh's voice shouting that he was back.

They all moved away from the window and tried to look casual, as though they hadn't been gossiping about them beforethey arrived, all of them taking up various places around the room, the girls and Faust in a corner pretending to talk about something and the guys quickly divided up a set of card and made out that they were playing snap or something. As soon as Yoh walked in, his arm still draped around Mia, they all stopped and turned to face them, pasting a smile on their faces. "Hey guys, I want you to meet Mia." He then turned to the room, going over each one in turn. "Mia, these are my firends, Morty, Ryo, Len, HoroHoro, Faust, Eliza, Pirika, Tamao, Jun and Lee." He added, noticing that Pailong was still there, however he knew that Mia wouldn't have a clue about who he really was.

Mia gave them all a fake smile that made them want to sneer, however they controlled themselves, knowing that this girl was important to Yoh, for some reason that they were yet to establish. It certainly couldn't be her personality.

They all spent the next several hours getting to know each other, although they soon found that they had to behave differently around Mia than they did Anna. For starters, Mia couldn't see spirits and had no idea what a shaman was, other than an old fashioned witch doctor, which caused them all to frown at her. Secondly, she actually told Tamao off when the girl handed Yoh a plate of his favourite meal. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! DO YOU WANT HIM TO GET FAT?! YOH DOES NOT EAT CARBS!" She shouted at the girl, causing them all to look at her astonished at what she had done, waiting for Yoh to tell her not to shout at Tamao, only to find him smiling, seemingly oblivious to what Mia had just done.

Tamao just stuttered an apology and left the room, going to hide upstairs where she could cry freely. HoroHoro, Pirika and Jun all followed her out, making out that they were going to talk to family. Eliza and the others wantedto follow them but they knew that it would be suspicious if they all ran out after Tamao. They all found the girl sobbing into Anna's pillow. Her bed still made up and left in the exact same condition as when she left.

The gang spent the next two hours perfecting their fake expressions so that they appeared to be listening and interested when in fact their minds were away in some distant land where Anna was still with them, and Mia had never even been born, her parents having used contraception that night. They were all immensely pleased when the awful girl looked at her watch and sighed, claiming that she had to go as she needed to be up early for work the next day. Yoh explained that Mia had a weekend job working at the mall in town. Mia had practically beamed when Yoh announced this, making out that she was sooo amazing just bcause she had a job.

As soon as the pair left, Yoh having gone to wal Mia home, they all let out a huge sigh of relief. "My God that girl is awful!" Len exclaimed.

"That's putting it a little lightly, don't you think brother?" Jun asked him, arching one of her eyebrows.

"I know, the way she acted so superior to us just because she's got a job working behind the counter selling clothes two days a week. Well, so what? Anna started her own gym and built it up so far that she was able to sell it and become a millionaire. If the girl had her own chain of stores, then I'd understand a little bit, but she isn't even in charge of anything, other than making sure the shelves are never empty and that the changing room and staff toilets are kept clean. I mean what is so great about a clean toilet?" HoroHoro exclaimed, still mad at the way the girl had yelled at Tamao.

"I still can't get over the way she had the nerve to shout at Tamao, and then that Yoh didn't say anything! I'm really suprised at him. I expected more from him. He always stood up for us when we were shouted at by Anna, or anyone else for that matter. But suddenly this girls arrives out of nowhere, and what? He's lost all his marbles? His backbone has certainly disappeared since she arrived here this morning." Pirika fumed.

"I know what you mean. I've never seen Yoh so . . so vacant, if that's the right word. It's like he's not even here. His sense anyway. I mean what does he see in her. She's awful. As soon as she stepped in here it was like Yoh was a totally different person. If I didn't know better, I'd say that it was a clone of his or something." Morty told them.

The others all nodded their agreement. "Well, what are we going to do? We can't abandon Yoh, but there's no way we'll be able to stick her too much without saying something, and then we might end up losing Yoh for good. We've already lost Anna because of this girl, I refuse to lose my friend as well because of her." Horo Horo asked.

Faust sighed, all eyes turning to him. "We're just going to have to live with it. We can't do anything. If Yoh is that besotted with this girl then we just have to wait until the novelty wears off and he begins to see what she's really like. If she keeps shouting at us and telling him what to eat and what to do, then I expect it will wear off sooner rather than later, after all, that was his biggest gripe about Anna. That she didn't give him any breathing space; and if what Morty says is true, then in next to no time she'll be the clingiest, most controlling girlfriend Yoh could ever imagine. We've just got to hang in there til that happens. Although personally, I'm haitng every minute of it." He told them. Sighing again.

They all realised that Faust was right and they were completely powerless, that is, until Tamao gasped. They all turned to her. "What is it Tam? Are you ok?" Jun asked, worried about the girl.

Taao smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, I just realised something. Yooh's family don't know about hwat's happened. Anna was supposed to go and help Kino, Yohmei and Mikihisa with the new trainees this week. They'll be furious that Yoh has not only cheated on Anna but driven her away. Quick keep a look out and tell me when Yoh's coming. I'm going to make a call." She announced grabbing the phone that was lying next to her.

They all grinnedat her plan knowing that the fear Anna instilled in Yoh, wasn't quite as bad as that of Kino Asakura, and they all knew how much the old woman had liked Anna. THe whole family had, having known the girl since she was three years old. The guys all crowded round the window as the girls grouped around Tamao, wanting to be close at hand to help if need be.

Tamao quickly dialled the number and found that it wasn't long until the phone was picked up. "Asakura residence, Mikihisa speaking, how may I help you?" Came the greeting.

"Mr Asakura, sir? It's Tamao." The girl started, playing the downtrodden victim, the girls all grinnign at her, loving the way she did the whole shy and scared routine.

"Tamao? What is it ? Is everything alright?" He asked, a little worried by her tone of voice.

Tamao sniffed, for effect. "I'm not really sure Sir. You see, Anna's gone." SHe told him.

"What? What do you mean gone?" He asked, slightly alarmed, she could hear a crash behind him and knew that Yoh's mother was around and thought something had happened to Yoh. The crash would bring Yohmei and Kino and it wouldn't be long until the entire family knew.

"Well, she left sir. Something happened between her and Yoh, and she left. Now we're meeting a girl called Mia, who's awful, but we don't really understand what's going on. I just thought I should let you know that Anna won't be able to come back and help you this week. From the way things looked when she left, I'm not even sure if she's still in Japan." She told them helplessly, all of them loving how thick she was laying it on.

"Oh my. Of course. THank you for telling us Tamao. We'll speak to you soon."

"Ok then, but please don't tell anyone I told you. I don't want to make anyone mad at me, but I didn't think it would be fair for you to get mad at Anna, when something happened to drive her away." She told them tearfully.

"Don't worry Tamao, we won't tell anyone that it was you who told us." Mikihisa assured the girl he looked upon as his daughter.

"Ok, thank you Sir." She murmered before hanging up, grinning at the gang who all gazed at her in admiration.

"Wow, Tamao, you could be an actress, with a stunt like that." Eliza told her, grinning.

Just then they heard Yoh open the door and come in, whistling, a huge smile on his face. They wondered how long it would take Kino to get hold of a phone and ring back to have a go at Yoh about how foolish he was. Sure enough, Yoh had barely even had chance to sit down when the phone went. Tamao picked it up like she usually did. "Hello, Asakura residence, Tamao speaking." She greeted in the same feeble fahion she usually did.

"Tamao, put Yoh on the phone now." Came the firm and furious tone of Kino Asakura.

"Yes Ma'am." She rushed, appearing alarmed at something. She puickly pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to Yoh. "Yoh, It's your grandmother." She told him.

Yoh's face fell. "Oh no." He muttered, knowing that he was in for it. He gingerly took the phone from Tamao, gulping as he did so, before holding it against his ear. "Grandma?" He asked apprehensively.

"Don't you grandma me young man. Where is Anna?!" Kino demanded.

Yoh gulped. "Well, you see, she's not exactly here right now." He began, somwhat tentatively.

"Where is she then?!" She demanded.

"well, er, you see, I ,erm, I, well I don't actually know Grandma." He muttered.

"WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!? SHE'S YOUR FIANCE, NOW STOP BEING SO STUPID AND PUT HER ON THE LINE!" She shouted down the phone, so loud that the gang could hear her.

"I'm sorry Grandma, but I can't, I really don't know where she is, and I don't think we'll be getting married anymore." He began, a little nervous about the reaction that would get.

"What are you talking about Yoh? Of course you're going to marry Anna. It's all been foretold. She is for you and you are for her." She told him, dangerously calm.

Yoh gulped. "Well you see. She kind of left me." He explained

"Yoh, stop being stupid, Anna would never leave you. I know for a fact that she loves you so will you please tell me exactly what is going on there?" She ordered him.

Yoh gulped again and began to fidget. "Well you see, 5 months ago I started seeing this girl Mia. She was really nice and seemed to actually like me, unlike Anna, who only ever seems to shout at me and disapprove of something I did. We met up a couple of times but I didn't think anything of it at first, but then we bagan meeting up more and more. A couple of times a month maybe. Then a couple of times a week. I, well, I fell for her. She's amazing Grandma. I'd love to introduce you sometime. But you see, Anna found out. I didn't realise that she could read my mind, and she confronted me about it yesterday. She asked me a couple of questions then she walked out. I haven't seen her since and she didn't say where she was going." He finished a little lamely.

"Yo had an affair!?!" She exclaimed. There was a thud at the other end and Kieko came on the line.

"Yoh, sweetie, what on earth did you say to your grandmother? She's just passed out." His mother told him.

"Oops. Erm, well, I told her why Anna left me." He explained.

"What? Why on earth would Anna leave you? She loves you sweetheart." She asked, confused.

"Well, I was kind of seeing another girl behind her back and she found out about it." He said in a bit of rush, hoping that it would lesson the blow.

"WHAT! YOH ASAKURA, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT!?! IT ISN'T NICE. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW POOR ANNA ID FEELING RIGHT NOW!?! THAT GIRL WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP HER LIFE FOR YOU, IN FACT SHE NEARLY HAS ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. IF IT WEREN'T FOR HER YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS WHAT SHE GETS FOR IT! YOH I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!" She shouted at him.

Yoh gulped, hating when his mother shouted at him like this. "Mom, please don't shout. I'm sorry. I didn't know how Anna felt. I thought she hated me." He tried to defend himself.

"HATE YOU! Anna could never hate you Yoh, and I'm very disappointed that you didn't try to get to know her better. If you had maybe you would have seen the wonderful girl that we all see, and from what I've heard from her, some of your friends too see too."

"Huh, what do you mean from what Anna told you?" He asked, curious.

Kieko sighed. "Once a month Anna would write to me, letting me know everything that was going on there. She often told me of how much she loved it there, about the firneds she'd made, the nights she spent with the girls and how much fun they were. How you were getting on." She scoffed. "She was so pleased at the progress you had made. She regalled us with tales of how strong you were becoming and how noble you were with the way you looked out for everyone. It makes me sad to know that that training was all for naught. That your strength and nobility have let you down. You've lost you're honesty, and without it, I don't know if you'll be able to remain the Shaman King." She told him.

"Mom, please-" He began, but was interrupted.

"No Yoh, I don't want to hear how amazing this girl is or how awful Anna was to you. You've known Anna since you were 4, you, more than anyone should know her well enough to have been able to see past the facade to the girl that lay behind the mask. If you had, there is no way that you would have done this to her. Did you know that she still has nightmares? She still fears what would have happened if Kino had not found her? if we hadn't taken her in? If she still lived with her parents, or she hadn't found you in time that day? We've received several late night calls since Morty instaled the phone at your place, in the middle of the night, Anna crying because of how real it felt. Your father and I would just sit and talk to her for hours, calming her down until she fell asleep. If you ask your friends you may find that they have had some similar encounters with Anna. I'm saddened that Anna obviously never trusted you enough to come to you with things like that. It makes me wonder what else you missed about her Yoh." Keiko told him. "Goodbye Yoh." She told him before she hung up, the line going dead.

Yoh stared in front of him, shock evident on his features. He couldn't believe how little he knew about Anna. Swallowing the lump in his throat he put the phone down and turned to the girls. "Can I ask you something?" He asked.

They all exchanged nervous glances before turning back to Yoh. "You know you can Yoh, we're you're friends." Jun told him.

"Did Anna ever call you in the middle of the night? Maybe because she'd had a nightmare? Or she said she just wanted to talk?" He asked them.

They al exchanged glances before nodding again. "Yes. At least once a week we'd get a phone call from her, just asking us to talk to her, to help chase away the demons in her mind, was the way she worded it." Jun told him, somewhat quietly, sensing that Yoh was rather distressed at the moment.

"It was true. All of it. I really didn't know her." Yoh slumped to the ground. "What have I done?" He asked himself as he dropped his head into his hands and cried, shocking his friends, however, they quickly collected themselves and tried to comfort the boy.

"AND CUT!" Yelled the director.

Back in LA, Anna had just finished shooting her first couple of scenes and they were now being sent of a break. She thought this a little odd, after all, they'd only been filming for about 10 minutes. Anna turned to Lewis who came up to her to show her where to go for breaks. "Lewis? Is it normal to take a break this soon after starting to film?" She asked.

Lewis frowned as he thought about the question. "Well, no, not really. In fact I don't think we've ever stopped filming so quickly after the start, but I noticed the writer and producer whispering to the director a couple minutes in so maybe they want to change something. It's not unheard of." He assured her, as they reached the long table which had been covered in snacks and drinks for them.

"So Anna, how do you like being an actress so far?" Lily asked her.

Anna smiled at her. "It's ok, better even than I thought it would be. But then I imagine this is the best part." She told them, tilting her head to one side. At the raised eyebrows she was receiving she explained more. "Well, this is what you love to do right? You love to act, so actually acting something out must be the best part of being an actor or actress right?" She asked them.

There were a few smiles and chuckles as they listened to her, all of them amazed at how mature she was for someone so young, they got the impression that Anna was a girl who had been forced to grow up at an early age and probably never had much of a childhood. "I guess so, but seeing yourself on the screen, knowing that other people are going to be sat in the cinema and at home hosting movie nights and playing a film you're in. That's a pretty great part too." They told her.

Anna smiled, wondering what that felt like. Just then Brad came towards them, the producer on one side and the Writer on the other. "Anna? Could I borow you a moment please?" He asked her, gently leading her away from the group.

Anna felt her heart quicken as they led her away, worried that they were about to tell her how hopeless she was. "Anna, have you ever done any acting before?" They asked her.

Anna was a little taken aback by the question. "Well, I was an angel in the school nativity play one year, does that count? She asked.

They all smiled at her. "Not really." They told her.

"Oh, then no, I guess not. Why, am I really that bad at it?" She asked nervously, unsure if she actually wanted to know the answer to that.

They all looked at her aghast. "Bad?! Oh my dear, you are just the opposite, you are incredibly good. In fact we were wondering if you would mind taking on the role permanently?" They asked her grinning.

Anna felt her jaw drop. "What? Are you serious? You want me to play Alex for real? Not just as a run through?" She asked, shocked when they nodded. "But what about Diana? Won't she be upset?" She asked, not wanted to have anyone mad at her.

"No, not at all, in fact, my sources tell me she hasn't broken her leg at all, but she was due to start filming anothr film for Steven Spielberg today. She hadn't expected to get the part so had accepted this one when it was offered to her, but when she found out she got the one in the new Spielberg movie she started trying to find a way to get out of this one, and now we have one for her." Liz (the producer) exclaimed.

"Well, if you're sure, then I'd be honoured to." She told them, grinning.

THey all cheered and the writer even went as far as to lift her off the ground and spin her round, causing Anna to scream slightly in suprise, attracting the attention of the others who made their way over to make sure that everythingwas alright. Lewis was the first to reach them. "What is it? Is everything alright?" He asked, slightly worried when Anna had screamed.

They all grinned at him. "Everything is more than alright Lewis. It's FANTASTIC!" Brad exclaimed. "Anna here, has just agreed to become our Alex, permanently." He told them, watching the sudden transformation in their faces.

They all beamed at Anna, pleased that they wouldn't have to put up with that snobby bitch Diana. "CONGRATULATIONS!!" They all shouted, hugging Anna, Lewis spinning her round in a similar way that Johnny, the writer, had. Only this time, Anna didn't scream, she just laughed. THe director looked at the pair and like the image of Anna laughing. He decided that he would incorporate it into the film somewhere, perhaps at the end. It would make a really nice shot, and from the looks on Liz and Johnny's faces, they thought so too.

Shortly after that Brad announced that they would leave it there for the night, continuing the next day so that they could all go and celebrate Anna joining them and still get a good nights sleep. Anna and Lewis in particular thought that this was a good idea, as the pair were still dealing with their jet lag.

After the partying finally died down Lewis returned to the room that re was going to share with James and rang his wife, Kelly back in Japan. It was only two rings before she picked up. "Hello?" She asked.

"Hey darling, it's me." He told her.

"Lewis, hoy are you? Did you get back ok?" he asked him a little worried.

He smiled softly, hearing the concern in his voice. "Yeah I'm fine. Got here ok, and done a couple of takes. Just got back to the room now." He told her. "How're you and the kids?" He asked.

"We're fine, I just finished tucking the kids into bed. Are you sharing a room?" She asked, knowing how much he disliked that.

"Yeah, but it's with James so I don't mind." He told her.

"James? But isn't he with Lily?" She asked, a little confused. "They haven't fallen out have they?" She asked.

Lewis chuckled. "No, don't worry, nothing like that's happened. It's just, Anna is a little new to all of this, she was a little overwhelmed and Lily kind of took it upon herself to make sure the girl was ok, so I ended up with James." He explained. James was on the other side of the room, and heard this comment. He gave a scoff, "Thanks, nice to know I'm appreciated." He grumbled, causing Lewis to laugh at him.

"Anna? Whose Anna?" She asked, thoroughly confused now.

"Anna is the saviour of Brad. If it weren't for her I probably would have ended up killing the irritating director as soon as I saw him." He told her, smirking slightly.

"What? Why on Earth would you want to do that?" She asked him, wishing that he would start making sense to her.

"Well, not long after I boarded the flight my pager went off, so I called Brad, only to have him tell me that as Diana had apparently broken her leg we wouldn't be able to start filming for another six weeks. Needless to say I was far from amused, having left all of you, paid a stupid amount of money for a peasent class ticket, only to be told I needn't have bothered." He told her.

"So how did Anna stop you?" She asked a little hesitantly.

"Well, Anna was sat next to me on the plane. She can't be more than 19, so I was a little hesitant to sit down at first, not wanting to sit next to some silly screaming and giggly girl, but she just looked at me then turned to stare out of the window. I don't know what it was, maybe her sad or serious expression, but I got the feeling that evenif she knew who I was she wouldn't have over-reacted, so I sat down and calmed down a little. I ended up talking to her a little before I got the page from Brad. She heard me fuming on the phone and came up with a good solution so I rang Brad back and he went for the idea, so I'm here and Brad is still alive." He told her.

"So what was the idea?" She asked.

"Oh, well, she suggested that we have someone take Diana's place in the run through's then when Diana was better we could digitally impose here into the footage." He explained.

"Hm, that's a really good idea, suprised no one else thought of it." She commented. "So, how is it that someone as anti social as yourself struck up a conversation with a stranger, and a 19 year old girl no less?" She asked, amused at her husbands antics.

Lewis could hear the amusement in her voice and chuckled. "I'm not really sure about that one myself, but when we were taking off she let out the saddest sigh I have ever heard in my life. It seemed wrong coming from her, I mean she wa so young, it was as though she had the world's problems on her shoulders or something, so I asked her if she was alright, after all, I didn't want her to suddenly burst out crying half way through the flight or anything." He told her. "She just gave me this sad sort of smile and told me that she wasn't really alright, but she would be in time. Well, it didn't take me long to figue out that something must have happened, and me, being the nosy person that I am, asked her what had happened. I wasn't sure if she'd tell me or not, but she did. I felt sorry for her. Apparently this guy she was with, she was obviously deeply in love with him, the pair were engaged and she'd known him since they were kids. Then she finds out that he's been having an affair behind her back for 5 months. I can't even imagine how gutted she was. She seemed so sad when she told me, and I could hardly believe it. Wait til you see her Kel, she's a beautiful girl, and I couldn't believe that anyone would do something like that to her. I told her outright that the creep didn't deserve her, which seemed to shock her a little." He admitted.

Kelly laughed at her husband. "You always were the blunt one. No beating around the bush with you around is there?" She chuckled.

Lewis grinned. "You know me too well." He told her. "But anyway, he just sort of gave me a smile. Then she turned the suprise right back around on me by telling me that if she didn't know who I was she would have assumed that that was a pathetic attempt at a chat up line. I was gobsmacked to say the least. I was sat there waiting for her to start screaming or something but she didn't, she just looked at me, amusement clearly written all over her face. I won't lie to you, I was a little put out. No ones ever reacted so, well, calmly to meeting me, not even people in the business. Of course I jst laughed it off and then went and put my foot in it all over again." He told her, sighing.

"Why? What did you do"? She asked, curious about this girl.

"Well, after we'd introduced ourselves I made some smart alec comment about parents, but her reaction made me think that maybe they'd died or something. I immediately apologised and asked her, rather awkwardley I might add, if they were still with us, only for her to smile sadly again and shake her head at me. As usual I had to press for more details and she told me. Kelly, I can't believe that any kind of parent would ever do such a thing to such a wonderful girl." He told her.

"What did they do?" She asked, not quite sure that she really wanted to know.

Lewis sighed again. "They abused her and left her in a forest at the age of three. How could anyone do that to a little baby? Aparently that's how she ended up meeting this guy. His family found her and took her in." He told her. "She was justso grown up about it Kel. She even told be that she was glad she'd been abandoned. Well, that one thre me for a loop. How could anyone be glad that they'd been abandoned by people who are supposed to love and care about you? But she was so mature about it. She told me that they way she saw it, if she hadn't been abandoned then her parents would have continued to abuse her until one day she may have died from the injuries. She claimed that she wouldn't have done any of the amazing things she had done if she hadn't been abandoned." He sighed again, sounding a little lost. "Kelly, if you could have heard the way she spoke of it. I don't think I've ever heard anything so sad in all my life. She's so grown up and mature as well, and yet she doesn't seem to think twice about it. I get the feeling that she's been forced to grow up before her years." He admitted.

"oh my God, that poor girl. Lewis you had better keep an eye on her. The industry are like vultures, especially if they get wind that she's going to be replacing Diana." She told him, her voice thick with emotion.

Lewis smiled at his Wifes reaction. "Don't worry I will do." He gave a chuckle. "She seems to have effected averybody. Lily's turned all maternal and protective of her, as have the rest of the cast. She's a really good actress as well, but I get the feeling that that may be more because so much of the storyline can be compared to her own life." He admitted.

"I see. Well, the kids and I are really missing you so we've all decided to come back early. I've already transferred our tickets onto a flight tomorrow evening, so we should be with you soon ok?" She told him.

Lewis smiled happily. "Really? Oh darling I can't wait. Ley me know when you land and I'll come pick you all up." He told her.

"Alright then Lew, but you best introduce m to Anna. I really want to meet her, just to give her a great big hug." SHe told him.

Leiws just laughed. "Alright then. Maybe I can convince her to come with me to met you." He wondered to himself.

"See that you do." She todl him firmly. "Now, I better go. I have to be up early to get everything sorted ready for coming back." She told him. "I miss you Lew, I can't wait to see you, and I know the kids feel the same." She told him.

"Love you too Kel, send my love to the kids and give them a big hug from me." He told her. "Can't wait to see you." He told her.

"Me too. Night." She told him.

"Night kel." He told her before the pair hung up.

Lewis placed the phone back on his bedside table and got ready for bed, James having gone to say goodnight to Lily. Climbing into bed, Lewis couldn't help but think of all that Anna hd been through.

In Japana new day was dawning bright and early, Yoh was the first one to rise, having got used to it, what wit hall of Anna's training. Knowing that she wasn't there to shout at him or nod her approval of his food or the amount of training he had done, he found he missed it more that he had thought he would. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts he pulled on his sweats and a t-shirt and left the house to go running, hoping it would clear his head a little bit.

Acouple of hours later Yoh returned to the in, his head no clearer than it was when he left, he walked in to find all his friends sat in the kitchen Tamao cooking at the stove, HoroHoro helping her, but only making more mess. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, just watching the scene in front of him. Pirika and Jun were laughing at something Len had done, the boy blushing bright red. Eliza and Faust were smiling and watching the scene in front of them, glancing between HoroHoro and Tamao, and Pirika and Len, a soft smile on their faces, occasionally chuckling at something one of them said or did. Yoh felt himself smile at what he saw. He was realy glad they hadn't abandoned him for what he had done to Anna. He knew that the girls were still pretty upset with him, but the fact that they were still there,standing by him made him really thankful that he had such great friends.

Yoh walked in and took a seat at the table, all of them smiling a greeting at him. He watched as Tamao and HoroHoro walked over to the table, plates in each hand, setting them down in fornt of them. Yoh was more than a little suprised when Tamao set a seperate plate down in front of him. Yoh's face fell, whilst his friends were being served a full English breakfast, he was left with a bowl of museli. He looked up at Tamao. "Er, Tam, what's this?" He asked a little hesitantly.

"It's Museli Yoh. Mia said that's what you should eat for breakfast from now on, after all, none of us want you to get fat, not that we wouldn't like you if you did, but t would be a lot harder to fight, right?" SHe told him, a small smile on her lips.

The others hid their smirks at Yoh's expression. "But, Tam, I've never had such a small breakfast before, and I always run off whatever I eat, you know that." He told her.

"Yes, but now that Anna isn't here to make you run, who knows how long you'll keep it up. I'm just preparing you for what's to come should you stop running." She told him.

Yoh swallowed and looked down at the plate, taking a bit of the stuff, grimacing at the awful taste of it. He looked wistfully at the others who were piling their plate high with sausage, egg and bacon, not to mention toast. He sighed then forced himself to finish the bowl, knowing that Mia would somehow know what he had had for breakfast when she saw him later on.

THe gang all watched out of the corner of their eye as Yoh forcedh imself to down the museli, they wondered how long he would put up with it. Tamao remembered when his mother had given it to him every morning for a week for doing something naughty. By the end of the week Yoh was begging her to give him normal food again, promising to never misbehave if she only stopped feeding Museli. She secretly wondered how long he would last this time.

Meanwhilse, in LA, Anna was sat down in the dining hall eating her favourite breakfast of French toast. She had asked the man what most of the food was, as she didn't recognise most of it, but he just asked her what it was she wanted. She told him her favourite was french toast and he had gone off into the kitchen and come back 10 minutes later with a massive plate of the stuff. Anna thanked the man profusely but he just waved it off. She then went to sit at a table in the corner, wondering how she would get to the studio today. 'Maybe I can get a cab.' She thought to herself.

Lily, James and Lewis walked into the dining hall about half an hour after Anna, all of them having had a mild panic attack when they saw that Anna was gone, they calmed greatly when they spotted the special girl sat in the corner with a large plate of French toast. Lily smiled and went to join the girl after telling James what she wanted. THe man just nodded and the two men went off to get the breakfast plates whilst Lily weaved her way through the tabled until she reached Anna's. "Hey Anna, you alright?" She asked cheerily, her voice not betraying the fact that just 20 minutes ago she had run to James and Lewises room panicking that Anna was missing.

Anna looked up, as though suprised to see the woman. "Oh, morning Lily. I'm fine thank you, are you?" She asked.

Lily gave her a smile as she nodded. "So, what do you think to all of this?" SHe asked the girl.

Anna shruged. "It's still a little surreal to me at the moment. I keep thinking I'm dreaming and will wake up any moment to find mysefl back at the inn with the others." SHe admitted, giving a lopsided smile.

Lily felt her heart go out to the girl sat opposite her. Lily had managed to prise the truth out of the girl last night , so she knew all about everything that had happened to her, from her parents abuse and abandonement, to the cheating and lying of her fiance. "I understand, but it's real enough." She told the girl. "I half an hour or so a car will be picking us all up and taking us back to the studio. How do you feel about that? We're doing the singing today." She asked he girl.

Anna paled a little. "I guess I'm a little nervous. I've never sang in front of anyone before. Not even my friends ever heard me sing. I would always duck out of the kareoke games." She told her. "What if I'm really bad?" She asked the woman.

Lily smiled. "Don't worry. There is no way on this Earth that you could be any worse than Diana. We were going to have to bring in a professional singer to do the singing parts for Diana. If we need to we still can, but my bet is that you have a beautiful voice. You certainly speak beautifully enough." She told her, causing Anna to smile and blush, unused to have such nice things said about her.

"Thank you. " She murmered. Lily just smiled at her.

There wasn't any time to say any more however, as the guys chos that moment to arrive with the breakfast. James sitting down next to Lily and Lewis taking a seat next to Anna. "So Anna, tell me truthfully, how did you get the chef to make you that French toast? I've bumped into him a thousand times at this hotel, and I still can't get him to mak me any." Lewis told her seriously.

Anna grinned and chuckled slightly. "I don't really know. I'm not very familiar with all the different foods so asked him if he would mind telling me what they were. He asked me what it was I wanted so I told him that my favourite was French toast. He then disappeared for a few mintues and came back with this."

They all laughed at the shock on Lewises face. "You charmed him." Lily laughed. "Never mind Lewis. Guess you can always learn to make you own." James laughed at his friend.

Lewis just scowled at them but he stopped when he heard Anna laugh at him. It was the first time he had heard a real laugh from her and he was really glad that he had made her laugh. He looked over at Lily and James and saw that they had noticed too. They all exchanged smiles for a moment before they turned to Anna, who smiled at them.

Anna couldn't help but laugh, they were all so funny together. She was beginning to feel as though maybe Yoh wasn't as good for her as she had thought, after all, he had never managed to make her laugh like the girls had, not even when they were younger. She smiled at the three people sitting with her, then noticed the receptionist approaching them. "Excuse me, sorry to disturb you, but your car has arrived." She told them. They all nodded leaving the hotel to climb into the back, where they were then driven to the studio.

Once they reached the studio they were all whisked off to be made up ready for the first scene. Anna saw Jaques again, only he was a little more stressed today. "Er, Jaques? Are you alright?" Anna asked the flustered man tentatively.

Jaques turned to Anna smiling. "Oh, I'm just a little flustered Miss Anna, nothing to worry about. One of my team has called in sick, and no one else seems to be competant enough to do her job." He complained.

"What job is that?" Anna asked. Wanting to try and find a way to help the man.

"She's the dressmaker. No one else around here knows how to even thread a needle. Some of the clothes need altering so that they fit you and the other actors and actresses." He sighed.

Anna smiled at him. "That's no problem." She told him. He just looked at her, astonished that she didn't see this as a problem. Anna caught the look and felt alarmed by it. "No, that's not what I meant, what I mean is that you shouldn't get worried about that as I know how to do it. When I get a break I'll measure everybody up and make the markings so that the dressmaker can just do the alterations when she comes in, or if she can't then I'll do them, just point me to a sewing machine, or give me a needle and thread." She told him.

Jaques looked at her, shocked that she was able to do such a thing. "You mean, you know how to alter clothing?" He asked, aghast.

Anna smiled at the look on his face. "I do. Back in Japan I made the clothes for my fiance in the competition, he was always stuffing his face with junk food so I was always having to make alerations to it, especially mending tears and stuff." She explained.

Jaques grinned and gave a loud squel before lifting Anna out of her chair and giving her a huge kiss on both cheeks causing the girl to blush brightly, something which caused the rest of the team to chuckle, all of them used to Jaques flamborant personality.

When a knock came at the door a couple of minutes later Anna opened it, still blushing, only to find Lewis, Lily and James there waiting for her. They saw the blush on her face and the others still chuckling behind her. "What happened?" Lewis asked, instantly going into protective mode.

Anna gave a small smile. "Well I told Jaques that I could help him with something and he was so happy he lifted me clear off the ground and kissed me on both cheeks. I guess I'm just not used to that kind of reaction." She told them.

They chuckled a little then led her to the set, still smiling at the girls innocence. "ANNA!" Came the sound of Brad walking towards them, Liz and Johnny right behind him, all with large smiles on their faces. "Anna, sweetheart, are you excited? You get to sing today." He told her, grinning.

Anna blinked a little, wondering why singing was something to be excited about. "Oh, well, a little I guess." She stuttered, suprised at herself, after all, when had she ever stuttered?

Liz smiled at her. "Are you nervous?" She asked. Anna nodded her head. "Don't worry about it. Just pretend that we aren't here. You're Alex, you're in your room and you're just singing to yourself." She told her, coaching her with how to deal with this sort of thing.

Anna nodded then went to take her position on the set. She would be alone at first, then at a certain point in the song Lewis would burst in, having overheard her and demand that she be the singer in the band, that being the one thing they hadn't decided on yet. Anna took a deep breath going over the words quickly in her head, then waited until she heard Brad shout 'action'. She didn't have to wait long and when he did she looked in her mirror, which thankfully didn't show anyone other than herself in it. She began humming the tune of the song along with the music that was playing, then started singing when she reached the chorus. Anna was suprised at how easily she found it to get lost in the song. By the time she had finished the song, Lewis still hadn't burst in like he was supposed to, so she turned around, doing a sort of dance move so that she could signal to him. She turned around and saw the shocked people all around her.

Panic instantly overtook her. 'Oh no, I really am that bad?' She thought to herself. Sensing her panic Lewis snapped out of his trance and cheered, clapping his hands. Others quickly following his example.

"WHOOO! GO ANNA!" He shouted, snapping the rest of the crowd out of their trances.

"Anna, flower, you were amazing. Why didn't you tell me you could sing like that?" Brad asked her.

Anna looked a little startled, having convinced herself that she was really bad. "Huh? Oh, well, I've never sung in front of anyone before, so I never realy knew what to think of my singing." She admitted a little shyly.

Brad smiled at her. "Well, that, my dear, was absolutely amazing." He assured her.

Anna smiled. "Thank you. It's a really good song though. I think it fits the character quite well, especially with what she's going through." She told them.

Johnny smiled at her. "The words were good, but it take a singer who can really express herself with her voice to turn it into such a remarkable song like you just did." He told her.

Anna felt herself blushing agian and sighed in frustration. "I really need to stop doing that." She muttered, causing the others to laugh. Lewis couldn't help but feel a burst of pride inside him, happy to see that the girl was finally coming out of her shell.

Back in Japan, the girls were getting ready to leave. They had stayed with Yoh for two days, and they had even met and forced themselves to be nice to Mia, no matter how much they hated it, but now they needed a time out, they needed to get away, just be themselves for a little while, go somewhere they could bitch about and complain as much as they wanted. This of course meant shopping. They were just grabbing their purses when the door opened and Mia and Yoh walked in. Yoh smiled at them. "Hey girls, where you going?" He asked.

"Oh, just a little shoping. Christmas is coming up soon you know." They told him, fake smiles plastered on their faces.

"Oh, well, Mia's great at shopping, why don't you take her with you. It'll give you all a chance to bond and stuff." He told them.

THe girls felt a moment of horror overtake them, but before they could think of a way out of it Mia interrupted. "Oh that sounds wonderful. That way you girls can help me pick out a present for my darling Yoh." She gushed, turning to Yoh, a simpering smile on her face. The girls could just make out the guys making gagging motions behind them, causing them to smirk a little.

"Well, then, I'll let you all get off. Just be sure to be back for 6, we have the Boblove concert tonight remember." Yoh told them, releasing Mia's hand.

The girls just nodded, then without another word, they cast despairing glances back at the guys, who shot them sympathetic smiles, before they left, Mia bounding happily after them.

As soon as the door closed the guys sighed. Yoh caught the looks on their faces and knew that he had just done something wrong. "What? What have I done?" He asked them.

"Yoh, the girls were going shopping so that we could get a present for Mia." Len told him sighing.

Yoh looked sheepish."Oh." .

"Never mind, theres nothing we can do about that now, we'll just have to send them out again tomorrow." He sighed.

"Oops. I'm sorry guys, I didn't realise you were going to get Mia a present. I didn't expect you to." He told them.

"Well, you're going to get her one, and now that she's been introduced to us, it would be rather rude if we didn't don't you think?" Len asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Wait, I have to get her a present?" Yoh exclaimed.

They all just looked at him. "You're joking right?" HoroHoro asked.

"What? What do I get her? We've only been seeing each other a few months, and it was only official a couple of days ago. Why would she expect a present?" He asked them.

They all sighed. "Yoh, she's a girl. All girls expect presents at Christmas time, no matter how little time they've known you, and you already know that she's getting one for you. It would look pretty bad if she got you a great present and you didn't get her anything." Morty explained to him.

Yoh stared at them wide eyed. "What do I get her?" He asked them desperately.

"Yoh, how are we supposed to know? We still don't know Mia that well yet. We sent the girls to get a present form all of us, as apparently there a few fail safes that they know of. Plus they're better at sussing things like this out. Besides, you know her better than us, you've been with the girl for 5 months! Are you seriously trying to tell me that you don't know anything about her?" Ryo asked a little put out at Yoh's reaction.

"Huh? Well, yeah, I guess, but presents are different, if you get the wrong thing they go nuts at you." He told them.

"Yoh, just ask the girls when they get back, that way, they can tell you if Mia saw something she really liked whilst out shopping today." Faust told him.

Yoh grinned. "That's a brilliant idea. Faust you're the best." He exclaimed. "So what do we do until then?" He asked.

The guys sighed and dragged Yoh off to the living room where they all just lazed about until the girls got back so that they could go to the concert. Silently sending out prayers, offering the girls enough strength to get through the afternoon without any incidents.

Someone must have heard there prayers at 5:30pm the girls arrived back with Mia, although none of them were carrying that many bags, well, except for Mia that is. They were all suprised that they girl had managed to carry so much on her own. The girls looked exhausted, and really wished that they could just put their feet up and have a girly night, but they knew they would never do that, not tonight anyway. This was Anna's last gift to them, and there was no way they were going to let her down. The entire trip had been awful for them. Mia's mere prescence only seemed to remind them of the girl, the fact that this trollope had broken the poor girls heart and driven her away because of the pain and humiliation she felt.

That night they all piled into the limo, Mia exclaiming about how nice all of this was, although she was reluctant to say anything good about Anna. They had all noticed how Mia seemed to badmouth Anna any chance she got. It annoyed all of them and it only made the matter worse when Yoh didn't tell her to stop. The gang felt that the entire evening was ruining just by the fact that Mia was there. They were quick to realise that the majority of their evening would be spent trying to keep their clam, rather than enjoying themselves, they only hoped that they could ditch the pair when they got backstage.

It had been almost 3 months since Anna had walked out, and finally the movie was finished. Now it was time to get ready for the premiere. Anna had arranged to meet up with Jaques on the day, so that he could get her all dolled up. She had made her own dress, loathe to buy something she could very well make for herself. For once Jaques didn't fight her on it, he had seen her dressmaking skills when they were on the set and the usual dressmaker had come down with glaguar fever. The entire cast and crew had been shocked at how able she was in that aspect. They had even asked her to alter or mend several of their other items of clothing which she had agreed to do, although sh had refused any kind of payment from them, claiming that she didn't need the money. This had caused a lot of curiosity, after all, what 19 year old girl didn't need money. Anna had then explained to them about the gym she had started and sold on. They urged her to do something similar here, she promised to think about it, but wasn't sure it would go down as well as it did in Japan.

The day of the premiere was soon upon them and Anna left Jaques studio, looking dazzlingly beautiful. Her dress clung to her like a glove, making her lok absolutely fantasitic. She slide gracefully into the back of her limo and was driven to the theatre where the premiere was being held. When she stepped out of the car, she smiled and waved at the press, most of them shouting questions at her. She noticed a japanese news crew stood close by, being pushed around by all the others, so walked towards them and greeted them in her native language. They grinned triumphantly at the others who were casting envious looks in their direction, and asked the girl a couple of questions, all of which she answered, only occasionally slipping in an english word so that the others would understand. She didn't linger, and as soon as the questions began to get a little personal, Anna got hrself out of there.

As soon as she stepped inside she saw Lewis, Kelly, Jay and Rosie, and James and Lily all waiting for her, smiling at the way she had dealt with the press. They stood laughing and joking around for a few minutes, Kelly and Anna having hit it off straight away from the moment they met, having understood what her husband had meant straight away, the pair, along with James and Lily had taken the girl under their wing and treated her as a younger sibling. The group were very close, and all looked out for each other. Even Jay and Rosie loved Anna. The girl was brilliant at making up stories to tell them, and they had never known anyone to tire them out as much as when Anna looked after them for a while.

THe film was a smash hit and Anna found herself shoved into the limelight. Her singing got her particular attention, forever being asked where she had learnt to sing like that. It was only a couple of days later that Anna landed herself a contract. Her only condition was that she could be her own person and write her own songs. She alredy knew that she didn't want to turn into some fako popstar like you always saw on the tv nowadays. The terms were agreed to and her friends had taken her out to celebrate, introducing the girl to the party scene in LA. Something which was particularly novel to Anna.

It wasn't until another 3 months later, after Anna had released her first Album that her manager, Paul, approached her a little nervously one day whilst they were in the recording studio, already having made a start on Anna's second album. "Er, Anna? Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked her.

Anna nodded and Lily and James left, all of them promising to meet up later on for dinner. Anna turned her attention to Paul. "Hey Paul, what is it?" She asked, smiling at him.

Paul studied her for a moment. He was amazed at how much the girl in front of him had changed in just the few short months that he had known her. When he had first mether after the premiere, she was shy and a little timid but fiercely loyal and honest to those she cared about. Now she was a lot more outgoing and she smiled and laughed a lot more now. She wasn't afraid to say what she thought, if she thought an idea was rubbish, then she would say so. He already knew about everything that had happened in her past. She had sat him down one day and told him, very seriously, that if he were to manage her then he needed to know everything about her, and to her, that included her past. She had been close to tear at one point but she had come on in leaps and bounds since. Everyone seemed to have fallen for her. She had a worldwide fan base, her own page on facebook, which she updated daily so that she could answer any questions her fans had posted. The press loved her style, she was more influential than even she realised.

When she had landed the contract with Paul, Anna knew that she would need a house of her own. She couldn't go on living in hotels. She had spent a whole week looking at houses before she finally found the one that she loved. It was a beachfront house, and her neighbours included George Michal and Avril Lavigne, both of whom she had become friends with, all of them throwing parties on a regular basis. Anna loved her new life, occasionally she found or saw something that reminded her of the girls, and she would feel a little sad that they weren't with her, but she knew that they would see each other again someday. She had sent them all presents at Christmas. She had gone shopping with Lily and Kelly and done all of her Christmas shopping. She had had them airmailed directly, so that she could be sure that they would receive them in time for Christmas. She hadn't included a return address, not wanting any of them to know where she was living.

"Paul?" Anna asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He snapped out of his trance and smiled at her a little apologetically. "Are you ok? You completely zoned out then. I shouted you like 10 times." She told him, a worried expression on her face.

Paul just smiled. "Sorry, I just got a little lost in thought there for a moment. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you was that the tv producers have been on to me. They want you to be involved with the next series of Dancing with the Stars." He told her, waiting for her reaction.

"What do you mean involved?" She asked.

"Well, they want you to sing on their first show." He told her.

Anna grinned. "I'd love to, you know how much I love that show." She told him.

Paul grinned at her, knowing all to well that she was totally addicted to it. "Great. I'll ring and let them know. Now, they film it live so they do several run throughs during the week. If you do agree, chances are, we'll be summoned there later on today. Is that ok?" He asked her.

Anna nodded, still smiling. "Sure, as long as I can get away by 8. That's when I'm meeting Lily and James for dinner." She told him. Paul just nodded then rushed off to make the call. Anna just sat there marvelling at how much both she and her life had changed since she had left Japan. She had reached the point where she was almost glad the Yoh had cheated on her, after all, she wouldn't be here if he hadn't. She found the thought rather an ironic one.

Sure enough later on that day, Anna and Paul arrived at the television studio where the show was filmed. As soon as Anna walked through the door the producer rushed to meet her. "Miss Kyouyama, I'm so pleased you agreed to do this." He gushed.

Anna chuckled. "I would never turn down the opportunity to be on this show. I love it. I have to arrange my schedule around it so that I don't miss it." SHe told him.

He seemd a little taken aback but obviously pleased as he sensed her sincerity, especially when he noticed Pauls face behind her. "Well, I'm honoured Miss Kyouyama. Now, if you'd like to follow me, I'll show you where you'll be singing." He told her, leading her through the studio until they reached the ballroom. He showed her the stage area where the orchestra would be. Where she would stand and so on. Anna took her place and everything was set up around her until it was time for her to rehurse. A couple of the professional dancer's came out, and sat with her for a while until they had come up with a routine that they all liked.

When they were ready for the run through, they all took their places and the area was all lit up and so on as it would be on the night. Every member of the crew, plus the judges and presenters all stopped to watch her. Her voice had a feel to it that left you unable to keep from stopping what you were doing to listen. Throughout the song, the dancers brought her down onto the dancefloor and weaved their way around her, dancing in a circle, until they involved Anna in a couple of moves they had taught her, all of them impressed with how quickly she had picked it up.

Halfway through her performance, a mobile went off and the producer walked away slightly to answer it. His voice could be heard from the other side of the studio, but Anna and the dancers tried to tune it out as they went through their routine, however, they soon found that that wasn't possible, so they all decided to stop until the producer had finished ranting at whoever was on the other end of the phone.

He snapped the phone shut and stormed over to where everyone else was waiting, all of them having stopped when his shouting became too much for Anna's voice to make it over. "Just brilliant!" He shouted. "Now what!? We are going to have to scrap the show if we don't come up with a new idea sharpish!" He exclaimed to no one in particular.

Everyone rushed to his side, Anna and Paul included. "Sir, whatever's happened?" Anna asked, causing a few suprised looks at the title she had used for him.

The producer apparently was one of them, as he just looked at her a little suprised for a moment before he sighed. "Well, one of our stars just dropped out, claiming she has a situation meaning she has to leave the country for a little while." He explained.

"Well, couldn't you find someone to take her place. This show is so popular, it can't be that hard to find a replacement." She told him.

He sighed again. "If only it were that simple my dear. It needs to be a girl, as we have to make it fair. We always have a certain number of people from different areas of stardom, different genders and so on. Then on top of that, she has to be somewhat graceful, we can't give our professionals an impossible task." He grumbled.

The professional all looked at each other before nodding. "Todd, why don't you ask Annabelle?" They asked him, having noticed the girls natural gracefullness.

"What?!" Both Anna and Todd exclaimed. THey turned to look at each other, Todd more critically than Anna. "Hmm, you know, that's not such a bad idea." He muttered. "What do you say. It'll be harder on you this week, as the other stars have had a couple of days head start, but I'm sure that you'll easily catch up." He told her.

Anna was so taken aback that she didn't move for a few minutes, then she turned to Paul, a smile on her face. "What do you think? Can I do it?" She asked, wondering if there was anything scheduled that would prevent her from partaking in it.

Paul saw the excitement in her and knew that he couldn't say no. "Of course you can. There was an interview scheduled, but it's nothing that can't be rearranged." He assured her.

"In that case, Sir, I would be honoured to be a part of this show." She told Todd.

Todd jumped out his chair beaming and hugged Anna, in a similar way in which Jaques had when she had told him thatshe could do the clothes alterations and so on. Everyone laughed at the actions of the normally reserved director. "Right, well, lets not waste anymore time, Anna, we need to get you sorted with your partner." He exclaimed, looking around him. "Now, wheres Vinncent?" He asked loudley.

"Right here, Todd." Came a voice.

They all turned to see who Anna would be dancing with. From the crowd a figure emerged, all of the professionals glared at him in envy, all of them knowing that Anna would be a terriffic partner as she was so graceful and enthusiastic. Vincent managed to fight his way to the front of the crowd, ready to see who his new partner would be.

Anna looked at the man now stood in front of her. He was tall, although only a foot or so taller than herself, so she wouldn't look too tiny next to him. He was strong, but not so much that he couldn't be flexible with loads of muscle getting in the way. He had dark hair and dark eyes. A strong jawline and dazzling white teeth. Anna felt her breath catch when she looked at him. 'He's gorgeous.' She found herself thinking. Quickly shaking those thoughts from her head she nodded at him, a smile on her face. "Hello, I'm pleased to meet you." She greeted him.

Vincent eyed the girl in front of him, drinking in the image of the girl in front of him. He couldn't believe his luck. She was beautiful. 'Oh no, I'm going to fall for this one.' He thought to himself. He smiled back at her and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a kiss, causing Anna to blush. "The pleasure is all mine." He told her. THe others all roleld their eyes or smirked at the charm, knowing full well that if he put so much as a toe out of line with her, he would have a lot of pissed off people coming after him.

"Roght, well, what are we waiting for. I want the stars out here, dressed in dresses, men in tuxes, the whole cobutal. We need to redo the title sequence and film Anna and Vincent's meeting for the first time. Jamie, grab your camra and microphone and dort that out, the rest of you, get moving and do something useful." He ordered, back on track now that his crisis was over.

Anna was swept away to the dressing rooms where she met the other female competitors. They were all really nice and were friends in a few minutes, all of them finding Anna sweet and refreshing. It was only a few minutes longer before she met the guys, all of them feeling oddly protective of the young girl. THey all watched Vincent like a hawk, something which the girls and the other professionals found rather amusing, that is, as long as it didn't take their concentration off their dancing.

THe title sequence was filmed quickly as was the supposed first meeting between Anna and Vincent. Soon the pair were whicking away from the studio to get started on practising their dance routine. Paul went with them, along with a camera crew so that their rehursals could be filmed and cut so that theycould show a summery of the week. On the journey over there, Vincent went over the routine he had planned for Janet, his would be partner and realised that he would have to change a lot of it as Annawas a lot better than her. By the time they reached a dance studio he had a new routine all perfected in his head. 'Now I just need to perfect it for real.' He thought to himself.

After a couple of minutes spent explaining what was going to happen, about which dance they were learning and what moes and so on were in it, the pair got to practising. Both of them were suprised at how quickly the moves were picked up, and Vincent instantly knew that they would be walking away with the trophy this year.

As they continued through the session Anna felt drawn to the man for some reason, he was really nice to her, and soft spoken as well. They found themselves chatting easily about things in general as they danced. Something which caused Paul and Jamie to exchange knowing glanced. Paul wondered idley how Lewis and James would take this news, not to mention Lily and Kelly. They had all vowed that only the perfect guy would be allowedto date THEIR Anna. Paul kept a close eye on him, knowing that he would have to deliver a report to the four worried people about how she was getting on and if the guy was getting too fresh with her.

By the end of the 3 hours that Anna could stay, she found herself smiling and looking forward to their next session tomorrow. She was amazed at how easy she found it to talk to Vincent. They had barely even noticed the hours rolling past them, so much so that Anna was a little disapponted when Paul interrupted and told her that it was time to go. She gave Vincent a last smile out of the corner of her eye before she waved goodbye, following Paul out the door and into the back of the car.

"So? I take it you like him?" He asked her a little amused at her. She had never once shown any sort of reaction to anyone he met. He was beginning to wonder if the whole episode with her ex had put her off or something, but there was no way to deny what he had just seen back there. This girl was developing a crush. 'And about time too.' He thought to himself.

Anna looked up alarmed by the question. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean, you like him don't you?" He asked her, giving her a knowing look.

Anna blushed. "Do not!" She exclaimed. "He's just nice person is all. Yes, that's it, a nice person. I mean he could have resented me, I mean how do you know what he felt about whoevers place I'm taking." She pondered.

Paul just continued to grin at her. Waiting for her to crack, so far she hadn't been able to lie to him, no matter how small it was. She hadn't tried often, and it was usually over a little joke or something that they all had going between them, but he found it amusing all the same. "Ok, ok, just stop with the look already. I think he's a little more than nice, but I'm not going to do anything that could risk my place in this competition. After all, how do I know he isn't simply being nice to help win the competiton, for all I know he could have a wife or a girlfriend or anything, hec, he could even havee a boyfriend." She told him.

Paul burst out laughing. "An, if you had seen the way he was looking at you I think you'd know that he definitely did not have a boyfriend, and I've not heard of any wife or girlfriend either." He told her. "From what I hear, he's all yours to move in on." He told her.

Anna blushed. "Yeah, well, lets just see what happens, the last thing I want is another Yoh situation. I thought I liked him too remember? And look how that one turned out." She told him.

Pauk wrapped his arm around the girl. "I know, I don't want you to feel rushed. I'm only teasing you a littel. Besides, you know that James, Lily, Kelly and Lewis are going to want to do a thorough background check on this guy before they let you anywhere near him again don't you?" He told her.

Anna groaned. "No, no, no, no, no. Not happening." She sighed. "I'm going to die of embarassement at some point in this thing aren't I?" She asked him.

Paul laughed at her. "Of course not. You know they would never purposefully do something unlessthey thought that they had to." He comforted her.

A few minutes later and Anna stepped into the restaurant, Paul having gone back to the office to sort out a couple of details. She spotted James and Lily from where she was stood and weaved her way through the tables and over to where they were sitting. She took her seat opposite them after they hah had the usual round of greetings. "So? What did Paul want to tell you earlier?" Lily asked, already sensing that there was something different about Anna.

"Oh, well, I'm going to be on dancing with the stars." She announced grinning happily.

"Relly? Oh my God, I'm so proud of you." Lily screamed, pulling Anna accross the table for a hug, causing them all to laugh. "How did this happen?" She asked when she had calmed down a little.

"Well, to start with I was just going to sing in the first show, but then when one of the stars dropped out they asked me to replace her. Obviously I agreed straight away and I met my dance partner and got all dressed up and even rehursed a little ofthe routine." SHe told them, a large smile on her face as she spoke.

"Oh, and whose your partner?" James asked, his protectiveness kicking in.

"Vincent. YOu know, the handsome one. Dark hair, dark eyes, quite tall." She told them.

Lily grinned at her, already knowing that just by calling him the handsome one that she must like him a little more than just friend material, so to speak. 'This is brilliant. I can't wait to tell Kelly about this. We have to go for a girly night out after this, or at least get ourselves introduced to this guy so that we can find out what his intentions with our little girl are.' She thought to herself, already planning on calling Kelly the second she walked through their front door that evening.

James looked over at his wife and could already see that a long phone call was going to be the result, he gave a short mental sigh then turned back to Anna asking her about what dance she was doing and so on. "Oh, we've got the foxtrot this week." She told him. "I really want to do the jive and the american smooth though. As long as I stay in long enough to learn those then I'll be happy." She told him, causing the man to smile.

The next day Anna turned up to the studio alone, only to find that Vincent and the camera crew were already there. She smiled when he turned to greet her, and he was pretty sure that he felt his heart skip a beat. He felt a strange and unfamiliar feeling surge through him, and couldn't help but wonder what it was exactly. Anna too had felt something tingle inside her when their eyes had connected for a moment. She put her things down and took off her coat, and tossed it over the back of the chair. She then pulled a hair tie from out of her bag and shoved her hair out of her face with it. She then swapped her pumps for some high heels, knowing that that was what she would be dancing in, then stood in front of the mirrir ready to dance.

Vincent never took his eyes off of her as she did all this, his eyes drinking her in. From the way that her golden hair fell around her shoulders to her legging clad legs, half hidden by the wraparound skirt she had tied in place to represent the dress that she would be wearing on the night. When she stood and walked to the mirror waiting to start, Vincent shook himself out of his reverie and joined her there, smiling at her. The pair spent a while just talking through their plans and stuff and getting to know each other a little, suprised at how much they had in common, and also a little suprised on where they differed.

Finally, they started dancing and the crew started filming, shocked at the chemistry that the two seemed to have between them. They had already picked out the perfect song to go with the dance, and were now practising it in time to the music, knowing that dancing it at you own pace and in time to the music were totally different things. Anna did mess up a couple of times, which caused her to get a little frustrated, but by the end of the day she was near perfect, just a little neatening up was needed.

The pair said goodbye to the crew, arranging when to meet them the next day, then walked a little ways down the street together. "So Anna, what made you agree to do something like this anyway? If you don't mind my saying so, you don'y really seem like the type of girl who would be into dancing." He asked her, hoping he hadn't offended her. He was rathr relieved when she laughed.

"I guess not, but then I could say the same about you. If I had to guess your profession just by looking at you I would have said model or personal trainer or something. Certainly not a dancer. But in answer to your question, I love this show. I'm not really sure why, but the way you flow through the dances, it's so elegant and graceful, two words which don't really match with me, well, with the me from my past anyway." She told him. "I guess that's what I like about it. It matches the new me and not the old me, if that makes any kind of sense." She told him, smiling sheepishly at her own ineffective description.

He laughed at her, causing the girl to relax. "I undertand. I guess I could even say that I can relate to that. It was a my parents that drove me to dance. They both wanted me to be something else, my dad a boxing champ and my mum a doctor. I didn't want to let either of them down or cause arguements between them so I knew there and then that I would never do either of those two things. I remember how much they had both loathed dancing so decided to take a class to see what I thought about it. I was totally hooked after just an hour. So much so that I pretty much dedicated my entire education to becoming a dancer. My parents argued over it, blaming each other for the route I had taken in life, until it reached the point where I just walked out. I haven't seen them in 5 years. I don't know where they live, or even if they're still alive, my brother still speaks to me, and he told me a few years back that they'd been pretty sick and been take into hospital. I'd gone back but they wouldn't let me see them. So I returned here and rang the hospital every day to see how thy were doing. They were released in a week or so, but it hurt that I hadn't ben able to see them." He told her, his expression downcast.

"Hey, it's not your fault. I'm sure they're still fine. I think that if they were that sick that they could have died from it they would have let you see them. Not just because they wanted to see you or even reassure you that you were alright, but because they would probably realise that it may be their last chance to do so. No one wants to leave something that big hanging when they die. I know I wouldn't." She told him.

He smiled at her. "You know, you really have away with words, you know that?" He asked her, smiling softly at her.

Anna blinked and blushed a little. "Oh, er, thank you." She told him.

"Your most welcome. But I feel like there's a lot more to get to know about you, so would you accompany me to dinner?" He asked her. A bit nervous that she would say no and then get angry and everything. He knew that the producer would kick his ass big style if Anna quit the show because of him.

Anna smiled at him, still blushing prettily. "I'd love to. As long as it's nowhere too fancy. I'm not really in the mood. I'd love to go somewhere a little more laid back, although I don't know where that would be now that everyone seems to know who I am." She muttered.

Vincent just smiled at her. "I think I know the perfect place." He told her. "But if not, then we could always get take out and just kick back at one of ours." He told her.

"Take out sounds great" She told him. "I hope you don't mind. I promise we can go to the other place another day. I'm just a little tired is all. It's been rather a long day. I mean, I was in the recording studio at 5." She explained.

He just smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Take out it is. Now do you have any preferences?" He asked a little playfully.

Anna giggled a little. "Well, not really, nothing too spicy. That's about it." She told him, likeing the feel of his arm around her shoulders.

"Hmm, not too spicy. Ok, that leaves fish and chips, Pizza or chinese." He told her. "Which do you prefer, I like them all." He told her, smiling at her expression when he asked her to make another decision.

"Er, where do you live?" She asked.

"Er, the other side of town." He told her. "Just off Goldsmith street." He told her.

Anna nodded. "Ok, so if we're going to yours then fish and chips would be the logical option, but if we're going to mine then it would be chinese. So, which pad shall we go to?" She asked, forcing him to make a decision.

"Er, well, mines pretty messy at the moment, although I'm saying that to put you off." He added. "It isn't usually like that, just after we've had a party." He explained.

Anna chuckled. "Ok, mine it is then, and Chinese too, I guess." She added. The pair nodded and continued chatting as they walked accross town towards Annas house. It was another 10 minutes until they reached the chinese that Anna had mentioned and Vincent was suprised when Anna spoke to the owners in their native language. She orderd for them and spoke casually with them for a moment before the woman went off into the kitchens and Anna turned back to Vincent who was staring at her in awe. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" She asked, turning towards the mirror on the back wall.

Vincent snapped out of his daze. "No, it's just I've never heard you speak Chinese before. I never realised." He told her, trying to explain himself.

Anna turned back to him. "Well, that may be because we've pretty much just met. I mean, I bet you can do things I don't know about." She told him.

Vincent nodded. "So, can you speak any other languags?" He asked her.

Anna grinned. "Of course. English is my second language, I'm originally from Japan. Have been here for just over half a year now." She told him. "Then on top of that I can speak French and Italian as well." She told him.

He felt himslf beginning to stare at her again, so quickly pulled his mouth shut and forced himself to absorb the information. "Wow. I can speak Spanish and that's about it. But that's only because my grandparents couldn't speak English so I had to learn Spanish in order to communicate with them." He told her.

"Wow, so you've got Spanish history? Are your family originally from Spain then, or is it Mexico?" She asked.

"They moved here from Barcelona about 40 years ago, when my mum was just a toddler. My dad's parents are from Italy, but he never spoke about his parents. I don't know who they are or where they are. I don't even know if they're alive." He admitted.

"Wow, seems like there's a few arguements that go on in your family." She observed. He laughed.

"You could say that. You don't really need to watch the soaps or anything with them around." He laughed, Anna chuckling along with them. "But that's enough about my crazy family, you must have one of your own." He asked her, wanting her to tell him more about herself.

Anna shrugged looking down, causing the man to feel a little alarmed, worried that he'd said something wrong. "Well, I don't know who my family are. All I know is that they abused me whe I was a baby then abandoned me for dead when I was 3 in the middle of a forest. For all I know I could have walked past them in the street a thousand times and I still wouldn't know." She told him.

He gasped. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. And I'm stood here going on about my family arguements." He sighed wanting to kick himself for rubbing the fact that he had a family in her face. He looked up when he heard hr chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. The way I see it I'm better off without them, after all, if they were low enough to beat a baby, who knows what else they would have done to me as I got older." She cringed a little at the thought, something he noticed, and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Anna gave him a smile. "Besides, if they hadn't abandoned me I wouldn't have met Yoh, and if he hadn't cheated on me then I wouldn't have come here and met you or any of the other amazing friends I have now." She told him.

He smiled at her way of thinking, and realised that the girl in front of him really was a one of a kind. He knew that no matter how hard he looked he would never, not in a million years, find another girl like her. The thought left him wanting to hold on to her tighter, but restrained himself, not wanting to scare her off or anything. "So, I'm not really sure who he is, but I don't like the sound of this Yoh, character. If he cheated on a girl lie you, then the guy must belong in an assylm." He stated, so seriously that Anna laughed.

"I guess. But I'm glad he did. I mean at first I was totally heartbroken, I mean, I was engaged to the guy. I really thought he was someone special you know? But since I've come over here, I can't believe it. I think I had a moment of temporary insanity, I mean, the guy never even made me laugh. I'm a totally different person over here, and I feel better because of it. Over there, I always felt pressured to act in a certain way. That pressures gone over here, I can just be myself, and I like that." She told him.

"Why would someone make you act unlike yourself"? He asked, frowning slightly.

"Well it's a little complicated and a very long story, who knows, one day I might tell it to you." She told him grinning as she paid for the food and walked out, laughing at his shocked face.

He quickly ran after her, realising that he had no idea where she lived. He looked around and saw her just turning into one ofthe driveways, he ran down the street until he reached the driveway she turned down and saw she just opening the front door. She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. He returnd her smile and walked up to her, still panting a little from his 30 metre dash.

Once they were inside Anna showed him into the living room then left to get some plates and stuff. Whilst she was gone Vincent took a long look around the room, it fit so well with what he knew about her already that he knew she had redecorated the place herself. He saw that there were some pictures on the mantle piece and moved closer to get a better look at them. In eahc one Anna was in the middle smiling and laughing with her firends, he recognised them straight away, there was one with Lewis Bradshaw, his wife Kelly and their two children, Anna stood between them all. Then another of her with James and Lily Potter. Another of her with George Micheal, and another with Avril Lavigne. He couldn't believe how tight she seemed to be with them all. He wan't sure he was as close with his friends as she was with hers, well, maybe Johnny and Pete, but none of the others.

A few oments later Anna walked abck in the room wih a couple of plates and some cutlery. She placed them down of the coffee table and pulled out the bags and containers of food, opening them up so that they were easy to get to. Vincent came over to join her and the pair both plated up what they wanted then settled themselves on the couch comfortably and just talked long into the night. It was gone midnight before Vincent finally called for a taxi to take him home, not wanting to impose on Anna any more, besides he had to get a good nights sleep ready for the next, and last rehursal, after all, after tomorrow they would be doing the real thing live on air at 6:15pm. He knew that because Anna was on it, twice as many people would watch as normal, which was good for the producers and stuff, but a lot more daunting for the actual dancers, as there was more pressure on them to make sure everything went right.

The next day Anna arrived on time looking amazing as usual at the studio, Vincent and the crew already waiting for her. He greeted her with a huge smile, which she returned and called over to her. "Hey Belle, how are you?" He asked.

Anna was a little taken aback by the nickname, but found that she liked it. "I'm great thank you Vinny. Yourself?" She asked, matching nickname, for nickname.

He seemed a little taken aback by the nickname but decided that as long as she didn't shout at him for what he was calling her, then she could call him whatever she wanted. "I'm just great thank you. Now, today is our last rehursal, so I asked you to bring a dress, did you?" He asked.

Anna nodded. "Yep, I wasn't sure what kind of dress you wanted so I brought a couple. Here, which do you think?" She asked him, pulling the two she had narrowed it down to from her bag.

Vincent looked over at the dresses she was holding up and knew that she would look absolutely stunning in either of them. However, he knew that he needed to choose the one that would be most like the one that she would be wearing tomorrow night. "Hm, well, you'll probably be wearing one more like the one on your left tomorrow night, so lets go with that for now." He told her, smiling.

She nodded and smiled before putting the other dress back in her bag and disappearing to get dressed. She returned a few minutes later and cleared her throat to let him know that she was there. They all turned around to face her and Vincent couldn't help but smile softly at her, she looked so beautiful, he knew that he was going to have to concentrate really hard so as not to mess up tomorrow night. That would definitely not look good, the professional getting it wrong? No way. "Wow, Belle, you look beautiful." He told her.

Anna smiled and blushed a little. "Thank you. Now, I have my heels on and I'm all ready to go." She told him, waiting for him to clik on the music and get into position. He quickly took his position and signalled for Jamie to turn on the cd player. As the music began they started the dance, and flowed gracefully and elegantly though the steps, not a single mistake occuring after a couple of run throughs, and Anna was really pleased that she was coping ok with her heels as well. The fact that she hadn't fallen over and was still able to look graceful was an added bonus to her.

They both found that the night of the show came around pretty quickly, Vincent having gone off to don his suit whislt Anna was whisked away with the other girls to get all dolled up ready for her dance. She was shown the dress that she was going to wear and gsped at how prett it was. "Oh, I have to wear that? But what if I trip and rip it or something? It's so pretty." She fussed, to her stylist.

The woman just smiled at her, not used to somone worrying about such a thing. "Don't worry, the material's a lot stronger that it looks, it would be very hard for you to damage it in some way, and anyway, it has to be pretty so that it can match you a little. It's designed to show off the dancer, and thatis exactly what this is going to do." SHe told her, ushing the dress on Anna before turning back to the array of shoes and accessories that lined the place. She turned back to find Anna stepping into the dress, and zipping herself up, although she had to help the girl with the bit at the top. She stod back to look at the effect and was satisfied with it. She knew that the dress had been perfect for her the moment she saw it. That was why she had brought it and given the other dress to one of the other girls. She pulled out the heels and gloves and handed them to Anna to put on and put in her earrings for her, but decided that anything else would ruin the simplicity of the look. She shooed Anna out of the dressing room where she found Vincent pacing up and down outside, alongside the other guys who were all waiting for their partners to come out. Anna smiled at them, and laughed a little, attracting everyone's attention towards her. "You don't need to look so worried, we just need to do more stuff to get ready than you guys, they'll all be out shortly, and beleive me, they look amazing." She told them seeing their shoulders relax slightly. Anna then walked over to Vincent, who offered her his hand and led her backstage where they went to take their place ready for the opeing when all couples would be introduced and walk down the stairs.

It wasn't much longer until the other couples joined them, all of them wishing each other good luck for the night, everyone knowing that they would be to nervous to say it after this part. Anna forced herself to calm and pretended that it was just another party and that she and vincent were back in the studio dancing. She was suprised to find herself calming down. Just knowing that Vincent was next to her was a big reassurance to her.

All too soon the pair heard their names being called as they were introduced and Vincent squeezed her hand a little and led her out into the light and down the stairs, everyone clapping for them as they did so. As they reached the bottom they went to join the others like they had been told to, and watched as other couples made their way down the stairs. Anna risked a quick glance at the crowd and was suprised to see how many of her friends were there. She could se all of them, right at the front, although how they had gotten such good tickets so late on she had no idea, she got the feeling that their status may have had something to do with it, especially since Brad was there as well, him and Lewis having already started on thir next film together.

The couples were ushered off the dancefloor as the presenters stepped into the limlight and the clips from the first couples training week flashed up on the screen. Anna and Vincent settled down backstage, knowing that they were the 10th couple the go, meaning that there were 9 before them and 2 after them. They took their seat on the couch and sat waitin, watching the screen that showed them the dancefloor where the others were dancing.

After half an hour of watching other couples dance, it was finally their turn. Anna looked at Vincent as they heard their clips being showed, hearing a few laughs at the teasing between the pair. It was only then that it struck her that no one had ever seen Anna with her guard down, looking like that, she was always immaculately presented and everything. She was slightly worried about the articles that would follow but knew that she could do nothing to control them so resolved to just be herself. She quickly imagined that they were back in the studio with a speaker, and the only people watching them were the camera crew. "Would Vincent Dellolio and Annabelle Kyouyama please take to the floor!" Came the announcers voice. They exchanged a quick nod before Vincent led her out onto the floor and the pair took their starting positions for the dance.

As soon as the music started Anna felt it wash over her and transport her back to the studio where it was just the two of them. As soon as she looked into his eyes it was like everything and everyone around them just melted away. They glided through their routine, both seeming to be in a sort of trance, untilat the end when they heard the applause, the pair even received a standing ovation from the crowd. They looked at each other and grinned happily before making their way over to the judges to see what they thought about it.

"Well, I don't know what to say, I mean that was incredible. You swept through that as though plane on a piece of string. It was smooth it was well thought out. There was a lot of eye contact with each other, but not a lot with your surroundings. I know it's easier to look at the person in front of you and less daunting to see whose watching you, but it really does give a better performance for this kind of dance."

"Yeah, I agree with Bruno, I mean for starters, that was probably the most amazing first dance we've ever seen here, but Annabelle, you need to turn you head a little bit more, so that others can see you. But I was really impressed." Came the second, and only female, judge.

"Well, I don't think there's anything to say other than the fact that that was the most amazing and captivating first dance I have ever seen in all my years of judging these competitions both here in the US, and in the UK as well." Came the final judge.

"Well, there you have it, I thikn you two have a lot be smiling about, no go on back to Tess, and we'll see you later." The presenter smiled at them.

The pair ran of back stage, smiling from ear to ear at their performance. Whe nthey got there they saw all the other contestants smiling and cheering for them, pleased with how well the pair had done. Tess took hold of Anna's hand and Vincent wrapped an arom around her shoudlers as they stood and waited for the scores to come in. "Well, you two, that was just incredible, and the judges seemed to really like it too. How did that feel?" She asked Anna.

"Amazing. I don't think I've ever felt such a rush, knowing that so much could go wrong, but it didn't. I can't believe it, and that we pulled it off as well as they said, I'm a little shocked I think." She admitted, unable to stop smiling.

The woman chuckled and turned back to the camera. "Well the judges scores are in." She announced as the camera flashed back to the panal of judges. "8" "9" "8" Came the scores, issuing loud cheers from the crowd.

The camera came back to the dancers and Anna's eyes had widened in shock. She turned to look at Vincent, but he was just smiling at her and chuckling at her expression. "We, we got a 9?" She asked.

They all laughed at the girls shock. "Oh my gosh we got a nine!" She exclaimed grinning madly and throwing her arms around Vincent, taking the man slightly bysuprise.

It didn't tak him long to return her hug however, which she was rather glad about.

Back in Japan the gang, along with Yoh and Mia, were all sat chilling out and watching the tv. It was Saturday night and none of them could really be bothered wit hgoing out and stuff, so they had all decided to stay in. Of course, Mia had been invited round, and seeing as her friends were all staying in as well, she had agreed to come around. They were just flicking between the channels when Mia's cell went off. "Hello?" She greeted. She listened for a moment, before frowning. "Er, just a minute." She told the person on the other end. "Er, guys, I don't want to be a bother, but would you mind stepping out for a second?" She asked.

The gang frowned at her, not sure why they should have to move just for her to take her call, but Yoh was already moving so they just sighed and went with it. "Sure, just give us a shout if you need any of us." He told her.

Mia just nodded and waited for them to clear out to return the phone to her ear. "Ok, which channel?" She asked. "Ok. . .I said ok, just give me a minute, these people have too many fricking channels on their tv." She complained. "Ok,, I'm there, now what is it that I simply have to see? There's just two people dancing." She moaned. She listened again, then started looking a little closer at the TV, to try and see exactly who was dancing. She gasped when she recognised the girl and none other than Anna Kyouyama. "Oh my God. How did she land that?!!" She exclaimed. "I can't let the others know about this, especially Yoh, he might start wanting her back or something." She whispered.

In the kitchen, Jun and Tamao claimed that they needed to go to the bathroom and left the kitchen, signalling to the others to keep Yoh occupied and in the room at all times. The others nodded thatthey understood and engaged Yoh in conversation as the two slipped out of the room and crept quietly down the hall. The approached the living room and saw that the door was slightly ajar. Carefully, they pushed the door open a little further so that they could see what was going on. They looked in just in time to see Mia change the tv channel. They looked at the dancers on the screen before realising who the girl was, even from that distance, there was no denying that it was Anna, their Anna dancing on the screen. They muffled their gasp as Mia's words penetrated their ears. "I can't let the others know about this, especially Yoh, he might start wanting her back or something." She muttered. The two girls quickly pulled away from the door and looked at each other, knowing that they couldn't tell Yoh about this, however there was no way that they were going to keep this from the others, not when they had all been so worried about her.

They enteredthe kitchen and tried to act normal, but the others knew that something had happened, now they just need to wait for Yoh to walk Mia home so that they could find out what.

The time for Mia to leave couldn't come quick enough for the gang, and by the time they stepped out the frint door Jun and Tamao were fit to burst with their news. As soon as the footsteps had faded into nothing, they all turned to he pair expectantly. "OH MY GOD YOU ARE NVER GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT WE SAW!!" They exclaimed.

"Well tell us then, son't keep us in suspense any more." Len snapped, earning him a glare from the other girls.

"When we snuck in there, she had changed the channel, it was an American dancing show or something, called dancing with the stars. YOu'll never guess who was on it, and with a total hunk of a guy I might add." Jun told them, all the girls smirking at her last sentence.

"Who?" Morty asked, curious as to who would be on ashow like that that would mean anything to any of them.

"ANNA!!" They cried.

"WHAT!?" The others shouted.

"Come on, I'll show you." Jun told them. She led them all back int othe living room and turned on the repeats channel, there, right near the bottom was dancing with the stars. Jun scrolled down and clicked on it, bringing up the show, she then fast forwarded it, until she reached the part where she knew Anna was about to come out. She pressed play and they all sat glued to the screen.

"Would Vincent Dellolio and Annabelle Kyouyama please take to the floor"

(music)

(applause)

"Well, I don't know what to say, I mean that was incredible. You swept through that as though plane on a piece of string. It was smooth it was well thought out. There was a lot of eye contact with each other, but not a lot with your surroundings. I know it's easier to look at the person in front of you and less daunting to see whose watching you, but it really does give a better performance for this kind of dance."

Jun turned the volume to mute and turned to look at the rest of them, all of whom were staring in shock at the screen. That was there Anna, dancing, smiling and laughing. Hugging someone, and not out of force or a will to harm the person either. In fact, if it were anyone else ,they would even have said that she liked this Vincent guy, and not in a platonic sense either, but they knew that must be wrong, after all, Anna loved Yoh, right?

Well, that's what they thought anyway.

Back in LA Anna was back in the dressing room ro all the girls, every getting ready to be in the dance off. None of them wanted to leave in the first week, they were all sat waiting to hear the announcement that they all needed to make their way to the stage so that they could hear the results of who had gotten through and who would have to dance again.

Anna sat staring at herself in the mirror, just thinking about how much her life had changed in the short time that she had been away from Japan. She herself had changed and she found that she liked it. She was a nicer person now, she was true to herself and she was happy, happier than she ever was with Yoh and the others, which is happier than she ever thought she could be.

The girls around the dressing room had already finished getting ready and were trying to calm themselves down and just chat amongst themselves. They noticed that Anna seemed a little distracted so Rachel went over to her, having become strangely attatched to the talented girl. Gently Rachel placed her hand on Anna's shoulder, causing the girl to start slightly. "Anna? Are you alright?" She asked gently.

Anna smiled at the girl whom she had become quick friends with. "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking a but that's all." She assured the girl.

Rachel didn't seem to think this was a satisfactory answer so she pulled over a chair and sat down next to the girl. "So what you thinking about?" She asked. "I don't recall you being so quiet." She teased the girl.

Anna chuckled. "No, I guess not. But I was just thinking about how much my life has changed since I moved here. I think leaving Japan was the best thing I ever did. I'm so much happier now. I never thought I would see the day where I found myself happy that the man I thought I loved more than anything else in the world had an affiar with some carbon cut out from school." She explained.

Rachel wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Hey I know what you mean. When I got married I thought he was the one, thought I would be with him for the rest of my life. Then look how that one turned out. He went off with his secretary from China, and I got everything in the divorce settlement. I thought I was going to be on my own forever after that, thought there couldn't possibly be anyone else out there that I could ever feel that way about. Then I met Ricky. I couldn't get over how much stronger my feelings were for him. It made me realise that I didn't love Tommy as much as I thought I did. I don't think I could bear to be without him npw. I love him so much it hurts at times, and we've never managed to stay mad at each other for more than a couple of hours." She told the girl sat next to her.

Anna smiled at the woman. "That's good. I kind of feel a little like that myself. I know now that what I had thought was love wasn't. I'm not really sure what it was, a kind of affection I suppose, after all, I don't want anything bad to happen to him, I just can't be with him, or even around him at the moment. But I like it here, and being here, I'm starting to think that maybe I can find someone who I really do love, who won't hurt me or call me names like Yoh did; maybe he'll actually appreciate me for who I am, not what I am or what I've done. It'd be nice, you know, to know what it feels like to love someone and and be loved in return." She told her, a sad sort of smile on her face.

"Hey, I know that you will. And if you want to feel loved you only have to look around you, everyone is in love with you. I can't remember the last time anyone had such an amazing reception here in the US. You've really managed to push your way into the hearts of millions. I don't know how you've done it, but you have. Now, why don't you tell me a little more about Vincent. He's rather handsome you know." She hinted.

Anna laughed. "Rach, you're married, you can't look at him like that." She exclaimed laughing.

Rachel grinned at her. "I'm not dead, I can still look. But even I know that no one could replicate the relationship the two of you have with each other. I sense a little something in the air there." She insinuated.

Anna blushed a little at their face. "I don't know what you're on about. Vincent and I are just friends." She protested.

Rachel just laughed at her. "Ok, sure, if that's what you say." She replid, in a tone that clearly stated that she didn't believe that a jot.

Anna sighed. "I don't know. I like Vincent. We get on really well. I know I'm going to miss him when the competition finsihes." She confided. She exchanged a sly smile with Rachel before the pair burst out laughing.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Would all dancers please take their placs on the floor. The results are in and have been counted." Came the stage hands voice at the door.

Anna and Rachel exchanged a look then put the finishing touches to their outfits and left the room, where they found all the guys waiting for them. All of them looked nervous, wondering whether they would have gotten through or not. Anna was slightly suprised that even the professionals looked a little nervous, but she had watched the show enough to know that as soon as they took to the stage, all traces of nerves would have disappeared and they would all appear to be confident that they had gotten through to the next stage of the competition.

Sure enough the moment the cameras started rolling, every symptom of nerves disappeared from everyone's expressions, all of them appearing quietly confident that they had gotten through to the next round.

Anna felt Vincent wrap his arms around her waist comfortingly, the same way the other men were doing to the other dancers. She felt a wave of calm wash over her as his grip tightened slightly, almost as though he could sense her nerves. Her wish to get through to the next round. "And now, it's time to find out who made it through to the next round, and who will be in the dance off tonight." One of the presenters announced.

"In no particular order, the first couple through to next week is . . . Rachel and Brendon." There was a loud round of applause as the pair smiled and hugged, as the spotlight on them went out, signalling that they weree through. Anna shot her friend a pleased smile, knowing how much Rachel wanted to learn to dance, seeing as her fiance was really good at it, and she wasn't.

"The next couple through to next week, is . . . Anna and Vincent!" The announcer cried, happily, glad that the pair had gotten through. The applause was thunderous and the judges all smiled and nodded at the pair, even the other contestants grinned at the pair.

As soon as the pair heard their names they grinned and turned to each other, Anna throwing her arms around Vincent, him lifting her clear off the ground and spinning her round in a hug. Large smiles on both of their faces. As soon as their spotlight disappeared, the pair stood still and just looked at each other, joy written on both of their faces.

Before the pair realised what was happening the results had finished and it was time for the dance off. All of the other couples having to move to the side of the floor to give the dancers room to move in.

Once the dances had ended, and everyone made their way backstage, Anna saw her neighbour, Avril Lavigne, and ran to greet the girl. The pair got on really well and immediately started gossiping, Avril congratulating Anna on getting through and on how good she danced, and Anna thanking the other girl for agreeing to sing at such short notice.

"And now, thanks to a special request and a good friend we have performing for us tonight, the one, the only, AVRIL LAVIGNE!" The presenter cried.

Avril gave Anna a quick hug then left for the stage. She sang her new song, Innocence which she knew to be one of Anna's favourites, alongside naked, but as that was an old song, she couldn't sing that on the show.

Backstage Anna couldn't help but smile when she realised which song her friend had decided to sing. "So, how is that you knew Miss Lavigne?" Vincent asked.

Anna turned to look at him, a little suprised. "Oh, well, we live next door to each other. I only moved in a few months ago, but she was really nice. I went round to introduce myself and she was really kind. After that she always invited me to her parties, so I invite her to mine, and the three of us have become really god friends." She explained.

"The three of you?" He asked, a little puzzled.

"Yeah, George Micheal lives on my other side." She explained. "He's really funny. And polite too. I was a bit taken aback when I first met him, but I really like him now. His parties are some of the best I#ve been to here in LA." She told him. "You'll have to come to some of them, they're really very good." She told him.

Vincent smiled softly at her. "I'd like that, but only if you're there with me." He told her, a little shyly.

Anna smiled right back, blushing slightly, whilst the others who had watched the interaction between the two just smiled knowingly at each other. "Of course." She told him.

Suddenly, the song was over and the winner of the dance off was being announced. All of the couples were led back onto the floor, and stood a little way behind those who were waiting to find out whether they had gotten through or they were going home. "And the couple which is through to the next round is . . . .Tom and Camilla!" Came the announcement. As one they all surged forward to congratulate the winning pair and condole with the couple who would be leaving the competition. Neither seemed all that bothered however, they didn't seem to get on very well at any rate, and seemed rather relieved that they wouldn't have to pretend to like each other any more. Anna saw several relieved looks on other peoples faces as well, all of them seemingly glad that they wouldn't have to make polite conversation with the tempermental pair anymore.

At the end of the show, they were all kept behind so that they could find out what dance they would have to perform the next week. Anna and Vincent ended up with the salsa, a latin dance. Some of the steps could get quite fast paced and complicated which made Anna a little nervous, but she knew that she would give it her best, and that Vincent would help her all the way.

That night they all went back to Anna's to celebrate them getting through to the next round, although they all agreed that none of them could stay past ten o clock as they had to be up early to get to the studios so that they could get started on their dance routines, so that they stood a chance in the competition, most of them knowing already that Anna would win. It wa more of a race to get to the final, each of them wanting to learn as many dances as possible before they had to leave.

Somehow they all ended up staying the night at Anna's all of them having had such a good time. Although by nine AM the next day they had all gone off to practise or t osome other job, leaving Anna and Vincent alone. The man in question was stood in the doorway, watching Anna as she cleared away the bowls and plates from breakfast. "So, what are your plans for the day?" He asked her.

Anna turned to look at him. "Oh, well, I have to go into the studio this morning. I'm just starting to record my second album. It's a lot more cheerful than the last one. Which is a good thing, but then I'm free, why? Did you want to get together to start practising?" She asked.

Vincent smiled. "That was the idea." He told her, "Although I would also be interested in taking you to dinner, that is if you don't already have dinner plans?" He asked, a little scared that she would turn him down and he would end up looking totally stupid.

Grinning Anna nodded. "I think that sounds great." She announced. "But I really need to get going. Paul will have my hide if I'm late." She told him, a little apologetically.

Vincent just laughed as he watched her running round the room gathering all the stuff that she needed to take to the studio with her. "I find it hard to believe that anyone could ever get mad at you." He told her, smirking slightly.

Anna just smiled sweetly. "You'd be suprised." She told him, thinking back to her old life in Japan. "Now stop distracting me, and go do something." She told him, shooing him out of the front door. "Oh, do you need a lift somewhere?" She asked.

"You can drive?" He asked, not having thought that she could.

Anna smirked at him. "What's at supposed to mean? I am nearly 19 you know. In fact it's my birthday in just a few weeks. And yes I can drive and, believe it or not, I have my own car. Now, do you want a lift or not?" She repeated, amused at his reaction.

Vincent grinned. "I'd love one, and on the way you can tell me when your birthday is and what you want for it." He told her. Determined to throuw her a massive birthday party.

Anna just smiled and got in the car. Vincent got in the other side, amazed at what a beautiful car she had. "I like your car." He told her.

"Thank you. It's not the one I always wanted, but I don't think I'd ever buy my dream car, even though I do have the money." She mused.

"And why's that?" He asked, curious, despite himself.

Anna shrugged. "Well, if you get your dream car, then you don't have anything left to dream about, besides, things like that never turn out to be as good as you thought they'd be. So I always go for the next best thing." She explained.

He nodded, although he couldn't say that he agreed with her on that. "So, when is your birthday exactly?" He asked her, watching her carefully.

Anna glanced at him out of the side of her eye. "Why do you want to know?" She asked.

"Well, in this country, we have little things called birthday cards, and birthday presents, and not forgetting birthday parties, so I would really appreciate it if you would answer my question. Please, it'll make me feel bad if you don't." He begged her.

Anna didn't want to make anyone feel bad, and whilst she didn't believe that not knowing her birthday would do that, she didn't want to try and test the theory. "Fine." She sighed. "If you really want to know it's Fabruary 14th." She told him.

Vincent grinned. "Valentines day. Oh what an amazing birthday." He told her.

Anna scoffed. "Sure if you say so Vinnie, although it's kind of ironic that a day meant to represent love is the day I was born into a family who hated, abuse and abandoned me." She told him.

"Oh my God. How could anyone do that to you? You're such an amazing person. I've never met anyone like you before in my life, and I don't think there's anyone out there like you." He told her.

Anna smiled softly at him, blushing slightly. "Thanks. That means a lot. I always used to blame myself for the stuff that happened to me. Thought that maybe I did something wrong or something." She shook her head. "I don't know. I just know that since coming here to LA, my entire life has changed for the better. I'm happier in myself, I have a successful carreer, friends who really care about me. I don't have to do what other people tell me. I'm doing stuff that I always wanted to but never thought that I could. It's amazing. I'm starting to see that it's not me that had the problem, it was them." She told him.

Vincent smiled over at her. "Good. I'm glad." He told her. There was a moments silence as they both thought over all that had happened t\in the past couple of days. "A lot of people who get abused always blame themselves, thinking that it's something they've done which cause it. It's one of the reasons that so muc hof it goes undetected as they think that it'll happen eventually no matter where they are. It's why my brother set up the charity to help people who had been through that. He never realised what an effect it had on people until he met his wife. She had been abused nearly all her life. First by her father, then by her boyfriend, she thought it was the way she was supposed to be treated. He helped her see that they were wrong to do that. She's come on so much since he first met her that she's hardly recognisable anymore as the same person she was back then. But it inspired him to help others like her. She runs it mostly as she's been through it so she can relate more to the peple she helps. Mostly he's just one of the donators, he sorts out the finances and that sort of thing." He explained.

"That poor woman. I don't think I ever thought about what kind of an effect it had on me, my past that is. I guess I just figured that there was something different about me. Something that made me worse than everyone else. The only thin I really remember, apart from the pain, is what they called me, 'demon child'. It hurt back then, and it still hurts now, but after a while I just blocked out my emotions, thinking that if I couldn't feel then it couldn't hurt me. It was stupid, but the people who found me, well, they encouragd me to think in that way. To control my emotions. I guess I took it a little too far though. . . my fiance's friends, when they first met me I was known as the ice queen, or the ice bitch. They didn't understand though. I always thought that Yoh did, but it turns out that he was just as oblivious as the others. He was the only one I ever told about my past. His parents thought it better for me to tell him, but he didn't seem to understand what I was going on about. Don't get me wrong, he knew that it was bad and everthing what I went through, but he didn't realise what kind of effect it had had on me. Which, I suppose, is understandable, he's only ever known a loving family, he's never had anyone really shout at him, except me. But he didn't understand then either." She chuckled sadly. "Guess, looking back, it was a doomed relationship from the start huh?" She asked him.

Vincent felt his heart go out to the girl. "You know, I don't think this Yoh guy knew anything about you. If he did, then there's no way he could have ever wanted any other girl ut you. You're far too special to give up without a fight." He told her. "But, and I know this sounds terrible, but I'm kind of glad that he didn't realise what he had with you, because if he did, then you never would have come to LA, and I never would have gotten to meet you. That would really be something to regret." He told her, gently.

Anna blushed but kept her eyes on the road. "Thank you. I'm glad I came here too. It made me realise that I am someone worth getting to know." She smiled softly, and Vincent felt his heart melt a little. He looked out the window and was suprised to see that they were nearly at their destination.

"So, what time shall we meet at the studio?" He asked, changing the topic.

"Huh? Oh, er, is about 5 ok?" She asked him, glancing at his expression quickly, slightly taken aback by the odd emotion on his face. She was about to use her Reishi to find out what it was, but decided not to, not wanting to ruin things between them. Besides, if something happened it could end up with her being booted out of the competition.

"Thant sounds great. It'll give me plenty of time to make sure the camera crew can get here and stuff like that." He waved a hand around generally, causing Anna to smirk.

"Ok then. Well, we're just about here. I guess I'll see you at 5." She told him. as she stopped the car and undid her belt, turning to face him properly for the first time.

Vincent smiled at her. "Great. I can't wait." He told her, not realising that he really meant it. He was slightly suprised at how much he cared for the girl in front of him already.

The pair smiled at each other before climbing out of the car, saying their goodbyes until later. Just as she was about to turn to go inside Anna turned and gave him a quick hug, something she had never really done before. As soon as she had done it she blushed furiously and ran inside the building, embarassed at what she had done. Vincent just stood there grinning for a minute, watching her run away from him, drinking in her entire appearence, from the way that her hair bounced as she ran, to the way that her feet seemed to just flick up when she ran.

Vincent pulled himself out of his trance and pulled out his phone, realising that the date of Anna's birthday was the day of the final. He was determined to get her there so that he could pull off a special suprise for her. He quickly dialled the studios number and got transferred to Todd so that he could arrange a few things. He then proceded to ring all of Anna's friends, having go their numbers the previous night from Avril, who had demanded to know why he wanted them, but then agree to help him with his plans of throwing her a suprise party. Of course that had ben before he had known about her birthday being in just a few short weeks, but this just gave him a more valid excuse to throw one. He chatted to Avril for ages, both of them having loads of ideas. They agreed to get in touch with all the others and arrange a time for all of them to meet up so they could get the wheels turning on the plans.

Back in Japan, the gang were walking down the highstreet, Yoh having blown them off to hang out with Mia and her friends. They had all noticed how much Yoh had changed since Anna had outed his relationship with her. He seemed ready to ditch them for anything these days. If Mia called then it didn't seem to matter if he was in the middle of a life and death fight or something he would just go running to her. THey hadn't realised just how bad it was until the other day when Yoh ditched them in the middle of bargaining a peace situation with Hao. Even Hao was shocked at Yoh's actions when, not only did he take a phone call in the middle of the meeting, but he then proceded to claim that he had an urgent situation that he needed to go to, all of them knowing that Mia had told him to come out with her. Hao had turned to them asking what was going on, especially when he noticed the looks that they were throwing at Yoh. They had explained to him all that had happened and the bot had frozen still for several minutes unitl he shok himself out of it, asking for more details. By the time they had finished talking Hao was just as appalled by Yoh's behaviour as both his friends and his family were.

"What are we going to do? We can't carry on being his fall back plan, he's just using us to be with when Mia isn't around. It's like he's totally forgotten everything we've all been through, about Anna, and what it means to be Shaman King. I mean, when was the last time any of you saw him actually help someone?" Pirika asked them.

They all shrugged and sighed. "I don't know, he hasn't done anything like that since before Anna left, I know that for certain. I'm really suprised at him." Morty told them, saddened by what had become of his best friend.

"Well, no matter what I refuse to be anywhere near him on a Saturday night. That is when Anna performs and I'm not going to miss that for him, no matter what he wants, not after what he's done. If Mia ditches him then he can spend the night alone for all I care. He's lost all respect and sympathy I had for him. Well, the little bit that wasn't already gone after what he did to Anna." Jun and Tamao agreed.

The others nodded their heads. "So, whose house shall we hang at this Saturday?" HoroHoro asked.

"Ours of course, after all, we have the biggest TV, that way Anna may seem almost life like. I can try to kid myself that she's still with us." Jun sighed, knowing that she would nver be able to do that, and was more likely to burst into tears just by trying to do it.

The others all agreed but knew that no matter what they did, they could never fool themselves to think that Anna was actually with them.

They spent the rest of the afternoon moping around town before heading back to Len and Jun's, their new hangout. It wasn't until Friday that anything seemingly interesting happened.

The doorbell rang and they all sighed, hoping against hope that it wasn't Yoh, wanting to hang with them as Mia was busy with something. Len stood and went to open the door, whilst the others stayed lounging around just chatting about stuff and what they needed to get for tomorrow night. They had decided that they were going to have a sort of Anna night. They were going to watch her performance on that dance show then they were going to watch the home videos the girls had made in secret capturing the real her, when she was smiling, and chuckling and just being herself.

Len pulled open the door, only to blink in suprise. "Hao?" He asked, wondering whether it was really Yoh, only different because Mia had told him to do something stupid.

He breathed a sigh of relief however when the man in front of him nodded. "Yeah it's me. Er, you don't know where Yoh is do you?" He asked, obviously fed up.

"Probably with Mia. That's where he always is nowadays. We haven't seen him in over a week." He stated, a slight tint of anger in his expression and tone. "Why?" He asked.

Hao sighed again. "I made the mistake of going home to try and make amends with the family. They eventually welcomed me back with open arms but then told me to come back here and talk some sense into Yoh, to get him to ditch this girl and get Anna back. Kino's had some kind of vision of what this Mia girl is like, and none of them want her to bear the Asakura heir." He told him.

Len felt sorry for him, knowing how futile his task was. "You want to come in for a while?" Len asked.

Hao smiled at the boy in front of him, "Ok, if you're sure." He checked, not wanting to impose on what they were all doing.

Len grinned. "Of course, you should know me well enough to know that I wouldn't offer if I didn't want you here." He told him, holding the door open for him. Hao walked through and waited until Len had closed the door to follow him through to the living room where the others all looked up, smiling when they saw it was Hao.

"Hey Hao."

"Hows it going?"

"What brings you here?" They asked.

Hao was slightly suprised at the warm welcome he received, but was pleased. He smiled at them as he sat down. "Hey guys. I'm not too bad thanks, and I originally came here to look for Yoh, but I've settled for steering clear." He told them, smirking.

They laughed. "Have you seen him recently?" Eliza asked him.

"No, and I'm not sure I want to either." He told them honestly.

They all laughed. "You don't. He's really changed. We haven't seen him in over a week. He doesn't care about anything but Mia anymore. He's awful to be around. That is when he isn't with her, whenever we do see him all we hear about is Mia and her oh-so-fabulous friends. Well, if they're so great he can go and hang out with them and rely on them to save his lie next time he gets himsefl in trouble. Anna isn't here to save him, and we aren't anymore. He's driven us all away, and we're much happier now." Tamao told him.

Hao nodded. "Yeah, I met this Mia girl a couple of weeks ago. Complete psycho from what I can see. She's so wierd, and twoface too. I heard her bitching about one of her friends the second she left for the bathroom, then was acting as nice as pie to her when she got back as though she'd never said anything about her. I couldn't believe it. And the way Yoh seemed to hang on her every word and do whatever she said just made me sick." He told them.

They all grinned and laughed, suprised to find that Hao wasn't as bad as they had all been led to believe. They all stayed talking and laughing for hours, realising that they hadn't laughed like this since Anna had left. Just as Hao was about to leave Jun stopped him. "Hey Hao?" She asked, causing him to stop and turn around. "We're all getting togethr here tomorrow night to have a sort of Anna tribute. It's not a lot, but you could, well, you know, come around if you wanted to?" She asked a little awkwardly.

Hao smiled. "I'd love to. What sort of time?" He asked.

They all smiled at him. "No later than 6. That's when it starts." HoroHoro told him.

Hao nodded and smiled at them. "Great, I'm looking forward to it. Well, see you tomorrow I guess." He told them. Waving to them as he left.

The gang all smiled, amazed at how well they all got on with Hao. THey laughed and chatted for a while longer before they all crashed out for the night, wanting to get up early the next morning so that they could get everything ready for the evening. Already looking forward to seeing Hao again. None of them could really explain why, he just seemed to make them forget about everything they had to be mserable about and make them smile.

It only seemed like a few hours later that they were all lining up the plates and bowls of food, the videos stacked in watching order and all the chairs and pillows positioned so that they were facing the tv. At 5:45pm they heard a knock at the door and Jun ran to get it, grinning when she saw Hao standing there. Hey, glad you could make it. Come in, come in, we just finished getting everything ready." She told him.

Hao smiled at the girls enthusiasm. He followed her in, leaving his coat and shoes in the entrance hall. He then followed her through to the living room which seemed to have been transformed into a sort of home cinema room. It was really amazing the effect it had, and he couldn't help but grin, knowing that he was going to have a lot of fun that evening.

Barely 15 minutes later, they were all settled down a plate of food in front of them, drinks as well, although none of them wanted to drink much, knowing that it would make them need the toilet and none of them wanted to miss any of Anna's performance.

As soon as Anna took to the stage with her partner, they were amazed at how beautiful she looked, there also seemed to be a better connection between the two of them. They all began to wonder if there really was something going on between the two of them. Anna was dancing the salsa that night and she blew them all away. The judges were pleased with her progress as she had made, although they still found a couple of ways that she could improve, however Vincent didn't seemed as bothered by the criticism as Anna or anyone else did, in fact he smiled. It became clear though when they were in the back room, where all the other couples were waiting, most of them having already danced. "Yeah, it was great fun, but I'm a little nervous about all the imrovements I need to have made by next week." She confided, a slightly worried expression on her face.

Vincent smiled at her. "Don't be. Those comments are those based on professionals. They're treating you as they would any of us experts here. If it was two of us dancing, then the criticisnm they would give us, is the same as what they ar giving you." He explained to her.

Anna seemed a little shocked at this. In fact she seemed to freeze on the spot causing the others to chuckle at the girls whom they had all fallen in love with. So far they were yet to meet anyone who had a gripe with the girl. As soon as the show finished they sat and talked about it for half an hour or so, before they did any toilet dashes that were required and set up the first video.

They spent the entire evening watching the videos, laughing at the Anna that most of them had never taken the opportunity to get to know. They were slightly taken aback by how outgoing she could be, often taking the others in hand and leading the way on a girls night out whenever one of them needed cheering up.

The gang spent the entire weekend just hanging out. Laughing and joking like they had used to do with Yoh before Mia came onto the scene. But the gang were beginning to find that they weren't all that much against it as they were starting to get to know Hao better, something they never would have done if they had still been good friends with Yoh. They all found it rather ironic that just as one friendship was coming to an end, another one was just beginning.

Several weeks later and they all tuned in to watch the final, which Anna had managed to get to, not that any of them were suprised given how good she was at dancing, none of them had ever realised just how talented she was. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a special suprise. You see, on of finalists has a birthday today. She's kept it very quiet, but we managed to find out about it. So, I would like all of you to raise the roof for Miss ANNABELLE KYOUYAMA!" The presenters shouted.

They all gasped, none of them having realised that today was Anna's birthday. They watched as the camera's shifted to the back room where a stunned Anna was being cheered on by all the others who had gathered there to congratulate the winner, and condole with the loser. They all grinned at her stunned expression, and nudged the shocked girl out of her seat and forward with Vincent who led her out onto the floor, where everyone was standing on their feet. As soon as she emerged onto the floor they all burst into a spontaneous chorus of 'happy birthday', the orchestra quickly taking up the tune to accompany the crowd.

As soon as they finished Anna held a hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes, having never had anyone actually celebrate her birthday. As soon as they finished they all turned back to Anna. "Well, Anna, what are you going to do for us now?" The presenter teased the girl, knowing that they were all going to convince her to sing.

Anna seemed to snap out of her tranc a little. "I have no idea. I'm so overwhelmed. I can't believe that you all. . ." She trailed off, unable to express herself in words.

They all smiled softly at the girl that had worked her way into all of their hearts, whom they had all come to care for. "Well, why don't you sing us a song?" The other presenter suggested.

Anna looked up. "What? But what would I sing? " She asked.

They all chuckled at the girls obvious suprise. "Well, yes, but it's not exactly the happiest of songs." She told him.

"That doesn't matter, as long as we get to hear your voice, then it's something for everyone to celebrate." He stated, causing the girl to smile a little.

"Well, if you're sure, then I guess I could sing." She started, a little nervously. The crowd all cheered so Anna left Vincent and made her way onto the stage area where the orchestra sat, the special singers always standing just in front of them. Carefully, Anna took a deep breath to calm herself then gave a slight nod to the conductor who started the music. "I heard there was a secret court, Where David played and then pleased the lord, but you don't really care for music, do ya? It goes like this the forthe the fifth, the minor fall and the major live, that baffled king composin Hallelujah." She sang. The notes ringing out amongst the crowd as the lights dipped and candles seemed to light as the ausience began to sway in time to the music.

At the end of the song the applause was thunderous, but Anna just blushed a little, smiled and bowed before walking back over to Vincent and taking a hold of his hand, needing a little support at the moment, as she was still a little overcome with shock. "Anna, sweetheart, that was as beautiful as ever, and such an amazing song too. Now, we have to admit that there a a couple of other suprises for you, although I will admit, quite shamefully I might add, that we are not responsible for any of this." He told her.

"But then, who did all this, the only person I told about my birthday was-" SHe cut off as her eyes widened slightly, turning slowly to face a grinning Vincent. "You did all this?" She asked, astounded that anyone would go to such lengths for her.

"Of course. As soon as you told me that it was your birhtday, I knew that we had to do something special. I mean, you're a special girl Anna, and I wouldn't have traded having you as a partner for anything." He told her, causing the audience to 'aww' at his speech.

Anna smiled a little watery at him. "Thia is so amazing. I don't think I deserve it. I mean, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me." She told him, tears streaming down her face.

Vincent turned to her, ready to put his heart on the line. "Anna, in al my years of life, I've never ever met anyone as remarkable as you are. Over the past 12 weeks I've gotten to know you really well, and I really enjoyed your company. I've found myself anticipating our practices more and more as the competition has progressed. But, what I'm really trying to say is, thank you for being my partner in this competition." He told her, feeling a little lame. "And I hope that we can still meet up when this is all over." He told her, feeling a little nervous that he would get rejected, live, on international tv.

Anna smiled softly at him. "Vincent, I've gotten to know you too, and honestly, I was really suprised by how well we got on. You're not the only one who bagan to look forward to the lessons. They quickly became the highlight of my day. It's probably why I worked so hard. I really didn't want to let you down. I've really enjoyed being your partner and would love to meet up with you when all this is over, regardless of the outcome." She told him, tears in her eyes.

Vincent grinned, relieved that she hadn't said that she never wanted to see him again. He laughed as he hugeed her to him, lifting her off the ground and spinning her round in circles in glee, causing both the girl and the audience to laugh at the pair. "Well, that's lovely isn't it folks? I just love to see a happy ending." He announced, everyone laughing at him. "But now, it really is time to find out who the winner of this years, Dancing with the stars is." He stated. "If all the other contestants could come and join us out here on the floor." He asked politely.

He waited until they had all arrived, all linking arms, waiting to hear who the winner was. Of course they all already knew that Anna would win it, they had realised that pretty soon after the first dance, after all, she had blown everyone away with her gracefullness and elegance. "And the winner is . . . . VINCENT DELLOLIO AND ANNABELLE KYOUYAMA!!" The presenters cried together.

Anna felt her jaw drop in shock as everyone around her began screaming and hugging her, and Vincent lifted her off the ground, shocking her back into rality when he spun her aroundi n his excitement, everyone chuckling softly at the pair. Their love for each other obvious to them, even if it wasn't to the pair. "Oh my god, did we just win?" She asked, a little unsure if she was dreaming or not.

"We did Belle, we really did. You won." He told her, laughing.

"OH MY GOD, WE WON!" She cried, grinning as she threw her arms around his neck in glee.

And now to present you with your trophy." The words were spoken and motions were gone through , but Anna wasn't really aware of it all. She was still in shock that she had actually won. 'Me? Win something? This is one of the bestest, most strangest moments of my life, but I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the entire world.' She thought to herself.

As soon as the show was over Vincent took her to a special club where all her firends were waiting with bottles of champagne for them to celebrate with. They were all stood there, Lewis, Kelly, James, Lily, Avril, George and Paul. All of them, and they were all smiling and cheering for her, congratulating her on her winning the competition, which was still a little surreal to her.

At the end of the night Vincent walked Anna home, not caring that it was only a block or so, and that she knew the route like the back of her hand, or that it would make more sense for George and Avril to walk her home. He wanted the chance to be alone with her for a few moments. "Anna, you do realise that when I asked you to meet up earlier, I meant it as in a date right?" He asked, wanting to make sure that she knew what she had gotten herself into.

Anna chuckled. "Of course I know. You didn't think I was that out of it did you?" She asked him, nudging him slightly with her shoulder.

He chuckled, a slightly relieved look on his face. "Good. I just wanted to make sure." He told her.

"Well, I would love to go out with you. I care very much for you you know. It's rather strange. I've never felt this way about anyone in my whole life, not even Yoh, and I was supposedly destined for him. Well, that's a load of nonsense as the feelings I have for you are ten times stronger than any I ever had for him." She told him honestly.

Vincent smiled at her. "You know. I don't want to scare you or anything, but I think I may be falling in love with you Belle." He confessed.

Anna smiled at him. "I hope so, because I know for sure that I've fallen in love with you." She told him. She then reachd up to give him a kiss on the sheek, only for him to move his head slightly so that she ended up kissing his lips instead. Not that either of them complained. They both stayed there, on Anna's front door step, lips locked for several minutes, until their need for air became too strong for them to continue.

Panting the pair grinned at each other. "So, when do you want to meet up?" She asked him.

Vincent shurgged. "Does tomorrow sound ok to you?" He asked her.

"Sure, dinner at 7 sound good to you? Say at mine?" She asked, preferring a night in to a night out any day.

Vincent smiled. "That sounds great. I'm already looking forward to it." He told her, capturing her lips with his again, before her shooed her into the house and returned to his own home for the evening.

The next day Anna couldn't keep the smile off of her face, so all her friends knew that something god had happened. They had al gone to meet up with her at the studio, to catch up on gossip and stuff, plus they all wanted to know what had happened between the pair after they had left the place last night. Anna looked up as she walked in, smiling at them all. "Hey guys, I didn't expect to see you here. Thank you so much for last night, I had such an amazing time. No one's ever done anything like that for me before." She told them, still smiling.

They all grinned back at her. "Hey, that's no problem Anna, we wanted to help, but really, we can't take a lot of credit for it as it was all Vincents idea. He was the one who got everything rolling." Lewis told her.

Anna looked slightly taken aback for a moment, but the smile still remained on her face. "Well, I want to thank you anyway, for just being such good friends to me. I can't get over how lucky I am to have met such wonderful people." She told them, her smile turning a lot softer.

They felt their eyes tear up at how sweet the girl in front of them was. "Aw An, don't start like that, you'll make us cry." Lily told her, wiping her eyes, and trying to control the emotion in her voice.

Anna just chuckled. "Ok, but I just wanted you to know how much you all mean to me." She told them. "But anyway, I have to start writing songs today. Paul wants me to bring out a Christmas song this year, so I need to get started on it." She told them.

"Oh, really? That will be amazing. I just know that it'll get to number one." Kelly told her.

"You really think so? I'm not so sure. But if it gets into the top ten I'll be happy." She told them.

There was a slight pause as they all looked at her. "So, what happened last night?" Kelly asked, unable to control herself.

Anna blushed, so they all knew that something had happened between the pair. The guys were just hoping that Vincent hadn't taken advantage of the girls sweet nature. "What makes you think that anything happened?" She asked, trying to pretend that nothing happened, failing miserably at it.

They all scoffed at her. "Anna, really, we know you better than that. You can't stop smiling. Now, what happened?" Lily asked, deadly serious.

Anna grinned at them. "He asked me out!" She cried, beaming at them. "We're going out for dinner tonight!" She told them, smiling so wide that her face was in danger of splitting.

The girls all squelled and ran to hug Anna, congratulating her, and asking her all sorts of questions, what she was going to wear, where she was going and so on. The guys just watched them, smiling in amusement. "So did he, you know, do anything?" James asked, a little awkwardly.

Anna looked at them for a moment. "Do anything? What do you mean-" She cut herself off, suddenly realising what it was he meant. She gasped. "NO! Of course not. Oh my god. No, now way. He was a perfect gentlemen, he walked me to the door, asked me out and then waited until I was inside to leave." She told them, leaving out the part where she had kissed him. After all, they were the kind of details that the guys really didn't need to know.

James and Lewis nodded their heads in approval, whilst the girls smirked slightly, both of them knowing that a little something more, at least, had happened. Just then Paul came a\in to break up the party. "All right everyone, time to get moving. You all have places to be, and my star has a song to write and record." He told them.

They all rolled their eyes, grinning at him. Lily and Kelly turned to Anna. "We want to know everything, come to mine tomorrow, when you're done here ok?" Kelly told her.

Anna nodded. "Ok. Now you better go. If you don't Paul might blow a valve or something." She laughed. Paul shot her an indignant look, causing the others to laugh.

"Ok, we'll go, just don't forgt to come ok? If you don't turn up, we'll call the police and have them find you. Which may end up rather embarassing." Lily teased her. Anna nodded and they all left.

Outside the studio the two couples decided to go and get a drink, none of them in any big hurry. They ended up in a nearby Cafe Nero. They took a quiet table in the corner so that they wouldn't be overheard. They exchanged smalltalk until their drinks arrived, when they waited until the watier left to start the real conversation. "Did you see the smile on her face? I don't think I've ever seen anything so before." Kelly stated.

Lily nodded in agreement. "I know. Vincent really seems to be good for her. I'm still a bit wary though, after all, do you remember what she was like when we first met her? She was so quiet and contained. She seemed reluctant to do anything unless told to or someone told her that it was ok. She was even wary of her own thought and opinions. If that is what this Yoh guy did to her, then I don't want Vincent to do the same. I mean, just look how far she's come." She told them.

They all nodded. "I know what you mean. I'll never forget when I first met her on the plane, she was so depressed and quiet, I've never met a girl like that before, it didn;t seem natural. But the way she came up with that idea for the run through, it was just off the top of her head, I mean, she didn't even realise that she'd just saved us all hundreds of thousands of pounds. It was just natural to her to try and help, and yet she was suprised by the thanks that she got. I don't really know what her life was like back in Japan, she doesn't talk about it much, but they really must have taken her for granted there, especially if she was that suprised by a simple thank you." Lewis told them.

"I know what you mean, did you see the look on her face when she found out what we'd all done for her birthday? It kind of worried me a bit. It's as though no one's ever given her a birthday present before, or even a birthday card. It makes me wonder if anyone back in Japan even knew when her birthday was." James wonder aloud.

The others all sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what he had said. "You know, she's told us that she has to go back there one day. She doesn't know when and she doesn't know why, all she said is that she believes that one day, when the time is right, that she'll have to go back to Japan. She thinks it'll just be temporary though, LA has become her home." Kelly told them. "I don't know why, but I feel like when that time comes, we all need to be there for her, I don't know how easy it will be for her to go back to the country that is the backdrop for so much misery in her life, especially as there is a strong possibility of her seeing this Yoh creep again." She told them, sneering at the mention of him.

They all nodded. "I know. She told me something like that too. But I know that she's wary of the same thing. I think that's why she's shot down Paul's suggestions of a worldwide tour. At some point they would have to go to Japan, and I don't think she's ready for that yet." Lily added.

Before everyone knew it, it was Christmas time again. Anna had a special three track single released, although only two of the songs were actually released into the charts. The third song was a special song she did for charity, half the profit from the sales of her singles would go to selected charities. Her example led to several other charity releases, although none of which did quite as well as Anna's. By the end of December, Anna had given over $5million to 6 different charities, and there was still more coming in.

Anna and Vincent had been together for 10 months now and were more in love than ever. They were growing closer with each day, and eveyone knew it. They had been officially dubbed the 'it' couple of the year, although they still managed to maintain their privacy, something which they were both thankful for. Of course, as her fame and success grew, so did the growing demand for her to do a tour. Anna did eventually concede to do one of the USA, which cheered fans up no end. The tickets were sold within 3 hours of the box ofice having opened, and shortly after, airlines found a lot of last minute bookings, as people from all around the world were flying in so that they could see her in concert.

Despite how her success was growing, as her relationship seemed to bloom, Anna never forgot her friends. She always made time for them, both as a group and individually. She still attended all the parties that Avril and George threw, and of course, she still threw her own, but now Vincent and his friends would be invfited to some of them, depending on the type of party it was. Avril had gotten on very well with Johnny, one of Vincents friends, and so he was now becoming a regular attender to the parties that the three held on a regular basis. They were all very exclusive and hlf of Hollywood was trying to worm their way into their tight little social circle so that hey could be extended a visit.

Back in Japan, Hao and the gang had become tighter and tighter, until they all began to feel as though it were Hao they had known fir so many years and not Yoh. Yoh had become a somwehat sad and distant memory to them all, even Hao. Yoh always seemed to know what it was that Hao wanted to speak to him about, and always found good ways of avoiing him of getting rid of him quickly. It had meant that in over 10 months, Hao still hadn't been able to have a proper chat with his brother, which annoyed him greatly, but he looked at it as more time that he could spend with his new friends, rather than wasting his breath with his waste of space brother.

Yoh, himself, was more lovestruck than ever, although he did wonder every now and again, why his friends didn't seem t ospend so much time with him and Mia anymore. He had also wondered why they didn't send the unusually thoughtless gift personally this year, instead just having posted them to him, despite them all living in the same town. It confused him a little, but he figured that he shouldn't worry, after all, they may have been busy with family stuff. He knew that a number of Mia's friends were. After all, they had been comlaining about it enough.

It was now 28 months later and Vincent and Anna were now living together. Thye had been doing so for 18 months now, as they had gotten on so well, and hated being apart. Their friends were all happy for them and were exstatic when they had announced their engagement at Christmas. Everyone had found the story romantic, as Vincent had proposed to Anna on Christmas day, although the more cynical of the country had claimed that it had been done so that Vincent wouldn't forget their anniversary.

The big and happy occasion occurred in the July of the following year. Anyone and everyone was there for the event. There had been a large amount of discussion as to whether Anna should invite her friends from Japan, but in the end she had felt that she just wasn't quite ready to see them yet. She knew that they would all be upset when they found out she was married and they hadn't been at the ceremony, but she couldn't do anything about that. She would just have to explain it to them and hope that they understood. She did wonder idley whether Yoh had gotten married to Mia yet, but she found quite suprisingly that she really didn't care one way or another.

By this time Anna was 23, a few months off turning 24. Kelly and Lewis now had 2 children, and Lily and James had one oftheir own; a little boy called Harry. There was a lot of speculation going around on how much longer it would be until Anna had a baby.

The question was soon answered that Christmas. Anna had been called to the doctors for a check up and the results had come as rather a shock to her. It was Christmas eve and Anna was a little nervous, not having found the right opportunity to tell Vincent yet.

Vincent himself knew that something was wrong. In all the years that he had know Anna, he had never seen her this nervous, now even when they were about to danc together on live television for the first time. He watched as his wife bustled around the kitchen, making herself busy with the Christmas preperations, all of their friends having decided to accept their invitation on joining them for Christmas dinner. "Belle? Is there something wrong"? He asked softly, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

Anna tensed slightly. "Why would you think somethings wrong?" She asked, worried that he had found out somehow.

Vincent frowned. "Because you're rather tense, and very quiet, plus you're not singing." He listed, turning her around so that he could look her in the eye.

Anna sighed, knowing that now was the time she had to tell him. "Well, thee is something I need to tell you." She began. She looked up at him. "Maybe you'd better sit down." She suggested, not sure if he would take the news that he was about to become a father well or not. Vincent shot her a slightly worried look, but took a seat at the breatfast counter none the less.

"Ok, I'm sat down, now what is it you need to tell me?" He asked, getting a little nervous himself, worried that she was gonig to say that something had happened or she was hurt or ill or something.

"Well, you remember how I went for that doctors check up about 3 months back?" She asked.

Vincent looked at her, a little puzzled and worried. "Yes. Why?" He asked.

"Well, I got called back in because of something that the results of the tests showed. Do you remember? It wa just over a month ago?" She asked him.

Vincent nodded again, not liking the way this seemed to be going. "So? What about it?" He asked. "You said that everything was alright." He reminded her.

Anna nodded this time, confirming that those were indeed her words. "Yes, I did. And it is. I'm not in life threatening danger, or about to keel over or anything like that." She assured him. "But there was something different about me. About us really." She realised, tiltig her head slightly.

At the confused look on Vincents face, Anna realised that she would have to be a little clearer. "Wel, I guess what I'm trying to tell you, have been trying to tell you since I got back from there, is that, well . . . " She took a deep breath and decided to just come out with it. "Vincent, you're going to be a father." She told him, holding her breath, waiting for his reaction.

Vincent felt his eyes widen. "Me? I'm going to be-?" He asked. Anna just nodded, still waiting. Suddenly a large grin crept over his face as he took in the news. "I'm goin to be a dad!" He cried, jumping out of his chair and whiping Anna off of her feet, spinning her round in the air, causing her to laugh and sigh in relief, glad that he wasn't angry or upset.

As soon as he set her down she looked at him seriously for a moment. "So, you're not angry, or upset or anything?" She asked.

Vincent looked at her suprised. "Upset? Angry? Annabelle, I love you more than life itself. I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't put into words how happy you've made me. How hapy I am, knowing that I'm going to be the father of a child that you and I are having together. You truly have made me the happiest man in the world." He told her, capturing her lips in a soft kiss, which Anna returned, having gotten used to such displays of affection not long after they had started going out. Although the only picture of them that the tabloids had been able to get ahold of was the one of them on their wedding day, which some unscrupulous guest had taken of them and then sold to the papers.

When they parted for air they just stood smiling at each other for several minutes. "So, when are we going to tell them?" Anna asked him.

Vincent smiled at her. "Whenever you want to belle." He told her.

"Well, they say you should wait up to 12 weeks before announcing something like this. That wouldn't be until february time. It would be rather nice if we could start the new year with everyone knowing, don't you think?" She asked him.

Vincent smirked at her. "I think so." He told her.

Sure enough on New years day the pair hosted a huge party, inviting all their friends and family. Although Anna hadn't decided how she was going to handle the situation of letting her friends back in Japan know all about her news. At 11pm, just as everyone was starting to get ready to count down to the new year, Anna gave Vincent the nod and he tapped his glass, calling everyone's attention to him. "Before we start the big countdown, Anna and I have a little announcement to make." He paused as he flashed Anna a glance, only to see her smiling up at him, encouragingly, letting him know that she was behind him al the way. "Believe it or not there was a reason for throwing this party, and particularly for inviting those of you here tonight; and I don't just mean to see in the new year." He told them, causing a few chuckles, but mostly everyone seemed rather puzzled and curious about what was going on, several casting glances at Anna to see if she would give them a clue as to what was going on. "All of you were invited to this party as you all know us well enough to be considered very close friends, and family. And our announcement is something we want to share with all of you." He told them grinning broadly.

Anna chuckled. "Vinny, you're confusing everybody, just say it." She told him, causing a few relieved looks around the room.

"Oh, right, well, I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that, well, Anna and I, we're, well, WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS!" He cried, grinning madly.

There was a slightly stunned silence before all hell seemed to break loose. Everyone was running up to the pair, wanting to be the first to congratulate them on their news. The couple laughed and grinned at the reactions of their friends. "Oh, my God, you two will make such amazing parents." Kelly cooed at them.

"Kel, sweetheart, maybe you should calm down a little?" Lewis suggested.

Kelly looked at him gone out. "Calm down? How can I calm down? Our frineds have just announced to us that they are going to have a BABY! You do remember that feeling right Lewis?" She asked him, eyebrow raised.

Lewis frowned at his wife whilst the others chuckled at the pair. "Oh course I do, it was one of the happiest moments of my life, but if you keep hugging them like that ,then you may cut off their air supply. I'm not an expert or anything, but I don't think that would be recommended treatment for the baby." He smirked at her.

Kelly jumped back from Anna as though scolded, causing her to grin. "Don't worry about it. If you were hugging that hard I would have told you so." She assured the woman who was now fussing over to make sure she was comfy.

Anna's pregnancy seemed to fly by and she was made to slow down her life completely, which she found extremely annoying. For most pregnant women, they only had to deal with their husband fussing over them, Anna had to deal with not only her friends, but what seemed to be the entire country. Everytime she tried to do anything, whether it was go to buy groceries or just go to the bathroom, there seemed to be someone there to make sure that she was feeling alright. She knew that it was just their way of showing that they cared, but Anna couldn't help feeling slightly suffocated by it. She found herself looking forward to the baby's arrival more and more. 'Maybe then, people will stop trying to wrap me up in cotten wool.'

Back in Japan, Jun was sat in the living room, their now normal hang out place. Today was no different. She glanced around the room and saw all her friends sat around either watching the TV or just chatting about stuff. She couldn't help but feel sad at the two faces she didn't see there, one of them out of the country, living a successful and happy life in the USA, and the other doing who knows what with his girlfriend.

"Hey, are you ok?" Came a voice.

Jun started and looked around. She smiled softly when she saw Hao there. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little down is all." She told him.

Hao moved to sit next to her. "How come? It's not my idiot brother is it?" He asked, knowing that in some form, it probably was.

Jun gave him a small smile. "A little, I admit, but I miss Anna more. She's been gone for so long. I hate having to see her on the tv, not being able to talk to her or anything." She told him. She sighed. "I guess I just wish she could come back to Japan for a while. I miss her so much." She turned to look at him. "Sorry, I don't mean to dump all this on you." She apologised.

Hao smiled at her. "Hey, that's what friends are for right? To make each other feel better and listen to each others problems and troubles. Now, let me see that smile, or I won't leave you alone for the rest of the week, and I can really be annoying when I want to be." He threatened her, grinning.

Jun chuckled. "Ok. I'll cheer up a bit." She promised him.

Hao smiled at her. "Ok, that's better. Now, I just need to go and make a call. I'll be back in a minute." He told her, excusing himself into the hallway. He then pulled out his mobile phone and scrolled through his numbers until he reached Paul. He hadn't gotten around to telling the others that he knew Anna's agent. He knew that they would want to fly over and see her, but Hao also knew that Anna had a completely new life in the US. He glanced behind him, to make sure that no one could overhear him.

He waited until his old friend picked up. "Hello, Paul Marlow speaking." Came his friends greeting.

"Hey Paul, it's Hao. How's it going?" He asked.

"Hao! It's going well thank you, how bout you? The gang still holding up ok?" He asked, a little worried. The pair had been friends for years, before Paul ever found out that Anna's fiance was Hao's twin brother. Since he found out the pair had kept intouch so that they could moniter the situation.

Hao sighed. "I think so, but they all miss Anna. I think they're dealing with Yoh better because I'm around, but there's no one here who can be like Anna. They all miss her, and now they're feeling a little depressed that they can't talk to her." He admitted.

Paul sighd on the other end of the phone. "I see. I'm not sure what to say. I guess I can try and set up a few things with Anna in Japan. It won't be for a while though, I can't say why, but she can't leave the country for a little while, she's too tied up here." He told her.

Hao sighed again and pinched his nose. "Ok, I won't ask then, just as long as she's safe and well. She is isn't she"? He asked, checking.

"Of course she is, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to her. Niether would anyone else, I swear the entire country is in love with her or something." He told him chuckling.

Hao smiled. "Well, I'm not suprised, she's a good person, and totally stunning." He grinned, joking a little.

Paul grinned. "Hey, we'l have none of that thank you. She's like a little sister to me. I don't want to hear anyone talking about her like that." He told Hao, in a rather father like mannor.

Hao just laughed. "Ok, then. Well, I better go now, don't want anyone finding me." He told him. "I'll speak to you soon. Just keep watch over our girl." He told him.

"Will do. Gotta go. Seeya." Paul returned before hanging up.

Hao snapped his phone shut and took a deep breath before turning and going back into the room, where his friends were sat, all of them with a slightly depressed demeanor. "Come on guys, we're going out for a while." He announced, hoping that his plan to cheer them all up would work just a little at least.

They all looked up at him, slightly suprised by the sudden announcement. Nevertheless they all got up and followed him, wanting to see what he had planned.

Paul hung up his phone and walked back into the hospital, this time turning it off, so that the nursing staff wouldn't glare at him again. Well, how was he supposed to know that Hao was going to ring him when Anna was in labour? He walked back into the room where everyone was waiting. "How's she doing?" He asked Kelly.

They all turned to look at him, James and Lewis smirking at him slightly when the girls glared at him, not having been inpressed that he had left his phone on when he was in a hospital. "She's doing ok at the moment, but they're a little worried as the baby's heartbeat is a little slow. They've made it worse by telling Anna. She's panicking a little now, terrified that her baby's going to die befoere it's even been born." She told him, her heart going out to the couple in the delivery room.

In the delivery room, Anna felt the tears running down her face. "Vinny, what if we lose this baby? I don't think I could-" She cut off as the emotion overwhelmed her.

Vincent took hold of her hand and gripped it tightly. "Hey, don't talk like that. This baby is going to come into the world alive and well, and we are going to love him and care for him more than anyone else could. He, or she." He added at the look on Anna'sf face. "is going to be fine, we just have to have a little faith." He assured her. "Now, calm down a bit and relax, that way, it will all go a lot easier." He assured her.

Anna gulped in air and nodded her head. "Ok." SHe told him. Just then the midwife rushed in with the doctor. The pair were talking in hurried whispers, then they examined the scans monitering both Anna nad the baby, then examined her stomach, checking to see how dilated she was.

"Ok, Anna, I need you to relax and lie back for me. Now, I need you to tell me if anything I do now hurts ok?" He asked her calmly.

"Ok." She gasped, feeling her contractions again.

The doctor gave her a reassuring smile. He then began to press gently and firmly on her stomach, checking the position of the baby and the unbilical cord, to make sure that it wasn't strangling itself. He was just getting further down when Anna took a sharp intake of breath. He looked up. "Anna? What is it? Did that hurt?" He asked concerned.

Anna nodded, tears in her eyes. "It really hurts. Please don't do it again." She begged him.

The doctor nodded. "Ok, then Anna. I won't do it again. but I don't think you're going to be able to deliver this baby naturally. I'm going to have to perform a caesarean." He told them.

Anna gulped and gripped Vincent's hand tighter, showing him that she was scared. Secretly, he was too, but he knew that he had to be strong for Anna. "It's ok Belle. I'm here." He comforted her.

The doctor spoke hurridley to the nurse next to him who rushed off, returning a few minutes later with several other nurses, all of them carrying several instruments. The doctor then turned to Vincent. "I'm really sorry, but I need to ask you to wait outside for a few minutes." He told him.

Anna's eyes widened. "What, why? My friend had one of these and her husband was allowed to stay with her. Why can't Vincent?" She asked, getting more distressed.

"Well, we think there may be something wrong with your spleen, that's why you've gone into labour prematurely. We may need to do a small operation after we deliver the child and no one can be in here when we do it." He informed them, his tone properly apologetic, but with a firmess as well.

Vincent took a deep breat hand turned to Anna, not liking what he had to do, but knowing that if they argued then it may put both Anna and the baby in danger. "Ok Belle, you got to listen to me now. I'm going to be right outside the door. If you look over, you'll see me ok, an the others will be right with me. I'll be close by at all times, but I have to go. If they do nned to do something with your spleen, then I could only cause you more injury." He told her.

Anna nodded, several tears slipping out of her eyes. "Ok." She whispered.

Vincent gave her hand another squeeze and a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. As soon as he walked out of the room they all ran over to him. "Well, what's happening?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" "Are they both ok?" They all asked, the questions tumbling over each other.

Paul caught a look at Vincents demeaner and signalled them al to hush up. "What is it?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"There's a complication. They think there might be something wrong with Anna's spleen, so she can't deliver naturally. If she did, it would probably explode and could seriously harm the baby. They're performing a caesarean as we speak, so that they can get the baby out safely and see to her spleen if they still need to." He told them all, swallowing the lump in his throat, worried that he might be about to lose both his baby and his wife all in one go.

They all exchanged glances and surrounded him, offering their support. They marched him back over to the window, so that Anna could see him. They saw her worried face looking right at him, a slightly relieved look on her face when she noticed him there. Vincent quickly blocked out his fear and worry and forced a calm and reassuring look on his face. He willed himself to really feel them too, as Anna had told him a couple of years back about how she could see and feel others thoughts and feelings.

12 long hours later, after many cups of coffee and a lot of pacing, the doctor finally walked out of the delivery room, a large smile on his face. Vincent was in front of him at once. "How is she? Is she alright? What about the baby? Is it here? Is it alive?" He asked.

The doctor smiled at him, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Everything is fine. Both mother and baby and awake and well. You can go in and see them now." He told them.

Vincent grinned and hugged the man, before running into the delivery room, where he saw Anna sat up in bed, awake and smiling, although she looked a little tired, but very happy, a tiny bundle cradled in her arms. She beamed at him when she looked up and saw him. "Hey." She greeted him.

" are you?" He asked, their friends hanging back a little, having just walked in.

"Great. Come and have a look." She told him, unable to stop smiling.

Vincnet took a few slow steps to her side and perched on the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "So? Boy or girl?" He asked.

Anna smirked at him, and moved the blankets slightly, causing him to grin. "I'VE GOT A BOY!" He shouted, an elated grin on his face. The others all laughed at him, Anna included, although she was pleased as well, after all, she already had two little girls to buy for.

"So what are you going to call him?" Avril asked.

Anna smiled at Vincent, who returned it. "Tairon Lewis Dellolio." They announced together.

Lewis beamed at them, tears gathering in his eyes. "Lewis? After me? Oh you guys. I don't know what to say." He gushed, causing the others to smirk.

Kelly laughed. "Congratulations. This is probably the first time in our marriage, since I told him I was pregnant for the first time, that he's ever been at a loss for words." She teased, causing them all to laugh, knowing full well that Lewis could talk for England if he wanted to . Lewis scowled at his wife, only causing the laughter to louden.

"Don't think on it. Besides, you're kind of the reason I am where I am today. If you hadn't gotten on that plane and sat next to me, I never would have gone to the movie set with you. I never would have had such an amzing carreer and met Vincent." She told him.

Lewis smiled softly at her. "Oh Anna, you would have been a huge success with or without me." He told her, cryingall the same.

"Oh, don't start crying, or I'll start. You can't do this to a woman who is still high on hormones." She told them. They all chuckled at her as a tear leaked out of her eye.

It was almost a week until the pair were allowed to leave the hospital, their friends visiting them everyday, Vincent only leaving her side when Anna ordered him to go and eat something. This meant that their friends had to bring in some more clothes for Anna and the things they had brought in prepartation for the baby. The nursery had already been decked out in Winnie the Pooh stuff, so it didn't really matter whether the baby was a boy or a girl. Likewise they had only perchased a few unisex colours for clothing for the baby until it was born so that they could get appropriate colours after the birth.

When Anna finally arrived home she had lost so much weight that you could harldy tell that she had even had a baby. Her friends all commented on this but Anna just shurgged, a little embarrassed. "I can't really explain it. I've never een able to either put on or ose weight, no matter how hard I try or how much or little I eat. I can only assume that I put on weight before becasue I was pregnant, but now that little Tai, is out of me, my body has sort of snapped back to normal." She explained to them.

"God, I wish I had a body like that. It took me 6 months to get back to my normal size after I had Lucy, and 4 months after I had Jamie. That was only because I remembered how I did it the first time, so I didn't have to figure it all out for myself again." She told them.

"I know. It took me 8 months bcause I had gotten so attatched to eating so much of whatever I wanted. I had to change my whole mindset before I could lose any of the weight I had put on." Lily added.

"It's the whole weight thing that puts me off having kids in the first place." Avril admitted.

As though he sensed how uncomfortable his mother was getting with the way this conversation was going, little Tai began to cry. "Hey sweetie, don't cry, mummy's here." She cooed softly. The crying stopping instantly.

All of them stared amazed. "Ok, that's it, you have to tell me how you did that. None of our kids ever do that for us, eve nwhen they're only faking." Kelly told her.

Anna blushed and shrugged befor excusing herself to go and set Tai down for his nap. As soon as she was in the safety of the nursery Anna shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much." She whispered to the baby. "You really are an angel. So what do you think to you new room?" She asked him, holding him so that he could get a good look at everything. Tai just yawned, tired of all the excitement of having come home and met so many new paople. Anna chuckled. "That good hey? Well, I'm sure you'll like it much more when you're awake." She told him, laying him down in the basentette. She then stroked his cheek with her finger as she hummed a lullaby she remembered Yoh's mother singing to her once. Of course Kino had told her never to do that again, so Anna had only ever heard the lullab being sung to Yoh after that, which hurt a little, but she was glad that she had at least heard it being sung to her once so that she could sing it to her own baby boy.

Several minuts later and Tai was fast asleep. As much as Anna wanted to just stay there and watch him sleep all day and night, she knew that she had friend waiting for her downstairs, not to mention Vincent. Anna sighed, then turned back to her little boy. "Ok, mummy's just downstairs if you need me, and I will hear you every second over the monitor." She soothed. "Sleep well my angel." She whispered, giving hm a gentle kiss on the forehead.

When Anna walked into the living room, she found everyone spaced out on the couches, wine and champagne in hand, celebrating the fact that Anna and Tai were now at home. They all smiled when she walked in, handset in hand, and announced that the celebratons were to begin.

It wasn't until 11 at night that everyone finally left, deciding that Anna needed to get some rest after her time in hospital. Vincent sat next to Anna on the sofa, and wrapped an arm around her, Anna snuggling closer to him, enjoying the warmth he gave off. He just chuckled at her, she alwasy seemed to tickle him a little when she did this. "It's good to have you home Belle." He told her.

"It's good to be home. I really missed this place, I can't believe you didn't want to sleep here at night. It wasn't as though you would have missed anything." She told him.

Vincent just chuckled. "I wouldn't have had you with me. It wouldn't feel right." He told her. "Now, come on, I think it's time you got to bed." He told her.

Anna smiled tiredly at him, but followed him just the same, too tird to argue, or even attempt to claim that she wasn't in the least bit tired. It seemed only seconds after her head touched the pillow that Anna was asleep, but she felt herself start awake in the middle of the night, relievedthat she hadn't woken Vincent. She looked around her, wondering what it was that woke her up. She soon realised that Tai was awake and crying in his crib. She carefully eased herself out of bed, trying not to wake Vincent, and crept out of the room and down the hall to the nursery, where she found her baby boy crying. She lifted him out and held him close to her, rocking him slightly as she fed him a special formula that the hospital had given her. Due to her induced labour, Tai didn't quite have all the nutrients that he needed, and her milk, wouldn't provide it for him. Or at least, not enough, so he had to be fed a special stronger mixture from the hospital for a couple of weeks, and then he may be strong enough to feed on normal milk.

Secretly Anna was a little relieved at this, the one part oof being a mother that she hadn't really been looking forward to was breast feeding, and now she wouldn't have to. Even if she had wanted to the doctors had told her that it would be safer for both of theirs health if she bottle fed instead, which turned out ot be another luckly streak as in the week that she and Tai had been in hospital, her breasts hadn't given the slightest hint of having any milk in them whatsoever.

Anna set one of the mixtures in the little warming tub that they had brought and placed in te nursery so that they didn't have to go downstairs in the middle of the night to warm the milk. Once it was at the right temperature Anna tested it on her hand, then walked over to the rocking chair and sat down, her night gown and dressing gown gathered around her. She placed the milk down on the little table and carefully wrapped a blanket around Tai so that he didn't get cold. She held him close to her and held the bottle to his lips, helping him to feed. He downed the whole bottle and then quietned completely, his little hand waving around as though looking for Anna. Anna, placed the bottle on the little table by the side of the chair and just held him to her as she rocked gently in the chair, taking hold of his little hand in hers. She sat there, just rocking slowly and softly humming to him as she gently rubbed his little hand in hers.

Vincent stirred in his sleep and rolled over, only to find that his Wife wasn't there. He was just about to panic when he heard her on the monitor, humming softly and quietly to their little boy. It made his chest swell every time he thought about it. He pulled himself out of bed and gathered his drssing gown around him, padding softly out of the room and down the hall, where he found the nursery door already open. He just stood there watching the scene in front of him for several minutes, until he walked a little further into the room, the movement causing Anna to look up, alert. She smiled when she saw him but continued to hum her song, Tai having started fidgeting when she stopped. Vincent came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and Tai, the little boy fast asleep now in Anna's comforting arms.

After another couple of minutes Anna rose and placed him gently back in the crib, tucking him in gently and placing another soft kiss on his forehead. She wondered how he would grow up, whether he would be a high acheiver like her, or a dreamer like his father. Would he prefer academics or athletics, crativity. Would he read or play video games all day. She knew that only time would tell, but she couldn't wait to get to know him even better as he grew older.

Vincent gave his wifes arm a little squeeze, causing her to look uo at him. He then took a gentle hold of her hand and led her out of the nursery and back to their own room, the pair cuddling up together in bed, although Anna made sure that she could hear Tai breathing softly over the moniter first. Over the two years the pair fell into a sort of routine. In the morning Anna would wake up early and go downstairs to get breakfast ready for her and Vincent. Then she would go back upstairs and feed Tai. Once that was done she would bathe him and dress him, then take him downstairs to Vincent who would look after him whilst Anna got showered and dressed; one of the pair would then leave for work whilst the other stayed home to look after Tai. Inevitably one of their friends would drop by to see them throughout the day. Many of them baring gifts for Tai, all of them having fallen in love with the little tyke, who looked so much like his mum, and yet so much like his dad as well if looked carefully. The one who had been to work, would then come home and prepare dinner, or order takeout, depending on the type of day they had had, and whilst that was being done, the one who had stayed home would go and feed Tai and put him down to sleep. The pair would then eat dinner and go and relax for a little while, until Tai would wake up and then they would take it in turnes going to calm him. As soon as the pair felt their eyes drooping they would go off to bed, with Anna being the one to wake in the night to see to Tai when he woke. It wasn't that Vincent didn't want to do this, it was just that Anna was always the fist to wake, and Vincent was rather a deep sleeper.

As the months passed they all watched as little Tai grew up and started to talk and walk a little on his own. He was very attatched to Anna, and wasn't keen on being without her, but as long as Vincent was around then he didn't mind as much. It wasn't that he didn't like Vincent, just that he and Anna had a special bond, like all mothers do with their children. After all, she had carried him in her stomach for 8 and a half months.

Before they knew it they were all throwing Tai's third birthday party, the boy now old enough to walk and talk on his own, already starting to develop opinions on things. He was still much closer to Anna than Vincent, but he was starting to bond closer to his dad as well, now that they would do things like learning to ride a bike and play kick around and catch and stuff. Anna had already taught him how to read and he was now learning how to write. He was a fast learner and very intelligent for his age.

Even though she was so far away from them, Anna still had spirits watching over her friends, although they were focused more on the gang than on Yoh. The spirits would report to her every couple of months. She had been told a couple of months ago that Jun's boyfriend was cheating on her, she hving gotten together with some boy she had met in one of her evening classes. Anna had sent the spirit to haunt him until he either stopped it or told Jun the truth. She hoped for the first option so that she could prevent her friends heart from breaking like hers had, but he had decided to come clean and break up with her instead. She knew that Jun was broken hearted, but thankfully Hao and the others had been there to help her get through it and it wasn't too long before she was back on her feet again. She had been slightly suprised when she had first been told that Yoh seemed to have been replaced with Hao, but as she had heard more about it, she was slightly glad as he seemed to get on better with them than Yoh was.

One afternoon, Anna was in the kitchen making lunch and talking to the spirit who was watching over her friends for her, when Tai walked in, having come to ask his mummy for a drink as he was thirsty after all his running around. He had seen the spirit when he walked in, but hadn't recognisd her. "Mummy? Whose that?" He asked, innocently.

Both Anna and the spirit had whirled around, startled by the voice. Anna had glanced between the spirit and Tai curiously before she asked him a question. "Tai, can you tell mummy what you see?" She asked.

He thought it was rather an odd question but answered anyway. "I see a lady floating next to you. She's wearing a huge hat and has very dark clothes on. Is she ok?" He asked, his caring nature coming out.

Anna smiled at the boy. "Yes, she's ok. This Tai is a spirit. Your daddy can see spirits, but he isn't a shaman. Other people can't usually see her. Only special people called shaman can see spirits." She explained to the boy.

"Oh. What's a shaman?" He asked.

"A shaman is someone who can not only see spirits but merge with them. A person who can, for a certain length of time merge with a spirit so his or her body contains two souls. There is a lot I can tell you about this, but now isn't the right time. I'll tell you tonight ok?" She told him.

Tai nodded and left the room having forgotten all about being thirsty.

Latter that day, whilst Tai was watching a video, Anna and Vincent were sat in the kitchen. "Vinny, do you remember when I told you about my past?" She asked him, figuring it was the best place to start.

Vincent looked up from where he was reading the paper. "Yes why?" He asked, both curious and a little worried that someone from her past had caught up with her or something.

"Well, do you remember me telling you about shaman, and how I'm an itako?" She asked him."

Again Vincent nodded. "Yes. I remember. Shaman are people who can merge with spirits, and you're an itako, which means that you can summon spirits, is that right?" He asked.

Anna nodded. "Well, I know that you can see spirits, but we've already established that you aren't a shaman or anything. But I think there's a chance that Tai might be." SHe cofessed.

Vincent rose an eyebrow, but other than that showed no reaction. "Oh, and why's that?" He asked, curious.

"Well, earlier today, I was talking to a spirit and Tai walked in. He could see her and wanted to know who she was. I explained briefly that she was a spirit and only special people could see spirits, never mind merge with them. He was rather interested so I told him I'd tell him a little more later on." Se told him.

"Ah, that explains it then." He whispered to himself.

Anna looked at him a little confused. "What do you mean? Explains what?" She asked him.

"Well, earlier on Tai and I were hanging out in the garden when he came in to get a drink. He returned again 5 minutes later with a very thoughtful look on his face. I asked him if he had gotten a drink but he shook his head. He wasn't reallt in the mood for talking though so I just left him to it for the time being. He must have been thinking about the spirit he had just met." He explained to her.

Anna nodded. "I see. Well, what do you think I should tell him?" She asked him.

Vincent smiled at her. "Belle, you're the smartest, wisest, most beautiful and unique woman that I have ever met. I may be able to see spirits but I know next to nothing about them other than what you have taught me. You tell him what you feel you should. If that includes you past then that is up to you. As long as you are comfortable with it, that's all that matters." He told her.

"You know, I was hoping for something a little more specific." She hinted, giving him a slightly despairing look from the counter where she was preparing the dinner.

Vincent just laughed. "I know, but this is more a part of your life than it is mine. Only tell him what he is ready for and what you are ready for. Do not overdo yourself or overload him. That is the best I can do." He told her, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.

Later that night, Anna tucked Tai into bed and sat down next to him. The young boy seemed to sense that he was about to be told something important so listened carfully. "Tai, do you remember the spirit you saw earlier? How I told you about shaman?" She began.

Tai nodded. "Yes, shaman are people whose souls can merge with that of a spirit." He confirmed.

Anna smiled at him, truly amazed at how intelligent he really was. "Well, there;s a lot more than just shaman out there. There are Spirit mediums like mummy, who are also known as Itakos. This means that they can summon any spirit from any place in any part of the world, be it this one or the next. They can not merge with spirits like shaman can but they are very useful, and help keep the balance in order." She explained. Tai nodded, to let her know that he had understood and that she should continue. "There are also doushi, which can control spiritless bodies, more commonly known as corpses. Doushi's can control these bodies with talismans which they attatch to the body so that they body does what the doushi wants it to do." She explained.

"So, does this mean that I'm a shaman?" Tai asked.

Anna smiled gently at him. "It's a strong possibility. But there is still a chance that you may not be able to do any of the things I just explained. You may just be an extremely special little boy who has the ability to see spirits." She told him, not wanting him to get his hopes up.

Tai nodded, but didn't seem to think this was a strong possibility. "So, how do you find out if you're a shaman or not?" He asked.

"I'll test you tomorrow." She told him. "Then I'll tell you all about the Shaman tournament. It will eat up a few hours whilst daddy is at work, don't you think?" She asked him, smiling.

Tai nodded enthusiatically. Happy and excited, but too tired to stay awake, his dad having worn him out from all the runnign around they had done in the garden.

Anna kissed him softly on the forehead and tucked him in gently, before leaving his room, turning on his nightlight then turning out his main light and pulling the door to slightly, but not closing it as he wasn't quite tall enout to reach the handle properly yet. She then walked down the hallway until she reached the bedroom she shared with her husband, who was sat up in bed reading. He looked up as she entered, putting his book down on the bedside table and turning to face her as she changed and climbed into bed beside him. "So? How did it go"? He asked, a little apprehensive. He had been nervous that something would go wrong or she would end up netting too nervous or something. But from the look on her face, he figured that everything had gone well.

"It went really well actually. He's far more interested than I thought he'd be. Far more interested that Yoh ever was at that age." She added, wincing slightly when she mentioned his name.

"Hey, what is it?" He asked, having caught her wince.

Anna sighed. "I don't know, it's just, wel, Paul rang me today. He." She sighed. "He wants me to do a worldwide tour. I told him I'd think about it but I don't know. If I say yes it means going back to Japan, seeing them all again." She confessed.

"And you don't want to?" He asked, cautiously, not wanting to push her either way if it wasn't what she wanted.

"I don't know. I'd love to see the girls and Len, HoroHoro, Ryo, Faust and Morty again, but I'm not so sure that I'm ready to seeYoh agian." She told him. She turned to face him. "What do you think I should do"? She asked.

He took a breath and looked at her closely, seeing if there was any hint of which way she was likely to choose, there wasn't. "Well. which one is more strong? The desire to see your friends, or your desire to avoid Yoh?" He asked her.

Anna tilted her head as she thought about it. "I'm not sure. Probably my friends, I can avoid Yoh even if I am in Japan, but I'm not sure if I want my friends to come here to the US. I don't want to have to go back to being the old me here in LA. I'm finally being and doing what I really want to do. I don't wnat that to go away." She admitted.

"I see. Well, I don't think they would want you to change who you are, not if they're true friends. Besides, no matter what you choose to do, Tai and I will be with you all the way, and there's no way that I would let you change who you are as a person, and niether would Tai." He assured her.

"You mean that?" She asked him.

"Of course I do. Anna, I love you more than anything else in the world, well, with the possible exception of Tai, but that's asituation I would never want to have to even think about, never mind be in." He told her. "I would support you in any decision that you made, whether it was going back into acting, changing your hair colour or somthing, or embarking on a worldwide tour, we'll always be ther for you. That's what family is all about." He told her softly, pulling her closer to him.

Anna snuggled in, feeling a surge of love for the man next to her inside her. "Thank you." She whispered, kissing hm passionately on the lips. He returned her kiss and the pair stayed locked in each others embrace as they slowly drifted off to sleep, Anna hoping that her mind would be made up by the time she awoke in the morning.

The next morning Anna awoke, and just like she had hoped, she knew exactly what she had to do. After all, fans had been asking her to tour for years, it was about time she did one that wasn't centred on the US, no matter how much she loved the country. She turned to her side, to find that Vincent was still fast asleep, so carefully, so as not to disturb him, she left the bed and padded softly down the hall to Tai's room. He was already awake, as usual, but he had learnt to occupy himself until Anna came in to get him up. She walked over to his bed and pulled him out, balancing him on her hip. She then walked over to the rocking chair and sat down, Tai facing her on her lap. "Sweetie, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.

Tai looked up at Anna, a smile on his face. "Of course you can mummy." He told her.

Anna gave him a soft smile. "Well, you know how mummy is a famous singer?" She began. Tai nodded, his smile broadening. "Well, mummy's been given the opportunity to go on a world tour. Of course, if I did that, you and Daddy would be coming with me. What do you think?" She asked him.

Tai grinned and started bouncing on her knee. "Really? You mean we get to travel the world? See loads of different countries and fly planes and everything?" He asked her.

She smiled down at him, glad of his enthusiasm. "Yep, that's right. Mummy will spend the days with you and daddy then in the evening you can either stay at the hotel with daddy, or come to the concert hall with me. How does that sound?" She asked him.

Tai nodded. "Awesome. When do we leave?" He asked.

Anna chuckled at him. "Well, probably not for a month or so, it has to be arranged and the tickets sold after all, but do you really want to come? It would mean leaving home for a while?" She checked.

Tai nodded. "I know, but this is special. It's not like I have to sit on my own with nothing to entertain me with all day and night. This is going to be great." He assured her.

Nodding Anna rose from the chair, balancing him on her hip again. "Alrighty then, lets go and make breakfast for you and Daddy shall we?" She suggested.

"YEAH!" He shouted, pumping a fist in the air, causin Anna to chuckle. She didn't mind him making noise in the morning as she knew that no matter how loud he was, he still wouldn't be able to wake Vincent. She had tested him several times, but he never woke up unles he was ready to. It was good in some instances, but it always worried her about what she would do if there was a fire or something.

Shaking the dismal thoughts from her head, she finished off the breakfast and placed one plate in front of Tai, who was sat happily watching his favourite cartoon on the tv whilst he ate, and another next to it, ready for when Vincent arrived down the stairs. Once the two were sat happily at the table, Anna sat accross from Vncent, on the other side of Tai, with a cup of coffee. "So, do you need to go to work today?" She asked him.

Vincent looked up at her. "Huh? Oh, no, not today, why?" He asked.

"Well, I need to go and talk to Paul for a little while." She told him, fidgeting a little, wondering how to tell him about her decision.

Vincent look up, noticing the tone of her voice and the way that she was fidgeting. He contemplated her for several minutes, before it struck him. "So, when do we leave?" He asked.

Anna looked up sharply. "What?" She asked.

"When do we leave on this worldwide tour? I need to do a little research so that we don't miss anything good during the daytime." He explained, grinning at the shocked expression on her face.

"You really mean that? You don't mind coming with me?" She asked, trying not to get her hopes up to high, even though he had told her last night that he would go with her.

Vincent just chuckled. "Of course. I said so last night didn't I silly?" He told her as he smiled softly at her accross the table.

Anna grinned. "Thank you so much. This means so much to me. I don't know what I would do without you, I love you so much." She told him.

Smiling at his wife, Vincent took hold of her hand, Tai too focused on his programme to take any interest in what his parents were doing. "You are my entire world Anna. When you go away for just one night I miss you so much that I can hardly sleep, and you know how impossible that is for me. You and Tai are my life. If anything happened to either of you, I don't know what I would do." He told her, looking straight inot her eyes so that she kne he was sincere in what he was saying.

Anna felt the overwhelming sensation of his love and sincerity as he spoke to her, and felt the tears prickle at the backs of her eyes. She gave him a watery smile accross the table. "You mean more to me than I could ever put into words. You set my spirit free. You let me be myself, gave me confidence and belief in myself again, in the ability to trust others completely, to know that people aren't the same. You helped me work through my past and accepted me for everything that I told you, both the good and the bad. You never once judged me for any of it. I love you so much. I never want to be without you, and I know that I probably would have ended up coming home between destinations in the tour so that I could be with you both if you weren't coming with me." She told him, her voice thick with the emotion that she was feeling.

Vincent got up from his seat and moved around the table to his wife. Pulling Anna from her seat he wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently as silent tears streamed down her face. "Hey, don't cry, nothing is going to happen to either of us ok? Tai and I will be with you all the way." He gave a small chuckle. "He worships the ground you walk on." He teased her.

Laughing, Anna, playfully slapped his shoulder. "No he doesn't. He may like my stories and that, but it's you he really looks up to." She told him. "You can see it in the way he looks at you, the way he hangs on your every word, when you tell him about things." She told him.

He looked a little suprised at this, which caused Anna to chuckle, not having realised that he hadn't noticed any of that, but then she gave him a hug and a kiss on the lips before moving away to load the plates and cups into the dishwasher. "Well, I had better be getting dressed if I want to go and meet Paul." She told him, disappearing up the stairs, leaving her husband a little stunned still but smiling happily in the middle of the kitchen.

20 minutes later Anna returned downstairs, in a pair of dark blue jeans, a red t-shirt and pumps, and her brown leather jacket that Vincent had given her for Christmas the year before. The only jewellery she was wearing was a locket that she was given by Tai earlier in the year. She loved it as it held pictures of both Vincent and Tai in it. She never took it off, only when she really had to.

Tai turned to look at his mummy as he heard her enter the room, both him and his daddy looking up from where they were playing on the living room floor. Anna smiled when shesaw them. "Ok, Tai, come give mummy a hug, I have to go now. I'll be back in a few hours ok." She told him.

Tai nodded and ran to his mummy, throwing his arms around her neck as Anna crouched down, lifting him off the ground and spinning him round, causing him the laugh. "Mummy, I love you." He told her. "See you later, and tell uncle Paul I said hi." He told her.

Anna set Tai back on the ground and smiled softly at him. "I love you too sweetheart. I'll tell uncle Paul, and you be good for Daddy ok?" She told him.

Nodding, Tai ran off to watch the video his daddy had just put on. Anna then turned to Vincent, who came up to give her a hug before she left. "Go get em, and try not to shock Paul to much when you tell him your decision ok?" He teased her.

Anna rolled her eyes before giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Ok then Vinny, I won't. Take care of Tai, and I'll se you just after lunch." She told him. After a quick peck on the cheek she grabbed her things and left the house, climbing into her car and driving away from their home to the studio, where she was due to meet Paul in 20 minutes.

Arriving 5 minutes early, Anna went into his office to wait for him. As soon as he walked in Paul grinned at her. "Hey, so what's this all about. You said I'd like it." He remined her, just in case she had been lying to get him there quicker or soemthing.

Nodding Anna delivered her news. "I've decided to go with your idea. You know, the world tour thing. . . Vincent and Tai have agreed to come and both are pretty excited, so I can't think of any other reasons for me not to go." She told him, a smile on her face.

Paul felt his jaw drop in shock for a moment, not having thought that Anna would ever cave in this quick but he knew it wasn't down to anything that he had done, but to the fact that Tai and Vincent had agreed to go with her. "That's brilliant!!" He exclaimed. "I'll have the announcement made this afternoon. Tickets can go on sale tomorrow morning if we fred ex the design and that overnight, then we can have the first tour date for June 12th." He told her, getting excited at the preperations that would have to be made.

Anna smiled as the man starting reeling off tasks which would need to be completed in order to pull the whole thing off in time. Just then Lewis, Kelly, James and Lily walked in, all of them stopping in their tracks when they saw Paul. They then looked over to where they saw Anna sat chuckling at him. "Er, what's going on?" Kelly asked her.

"Hey guys. I just told Paul that I'll go on the world tour, and he seems to have gotten a bit excited." She explained.

"A world tour?"

"Wow, this is huge, what brought it on?" Kelly and Lewis asked, both of them knowing that Japan would be a likely destination on the tour.

Anna shrugged a little. "I don't really know. I just woke up this morning and knew that it was something I had to do. It did help that Vincent and Tai have agreed to come along, so it won't be quite as bad. I'm still going to miss you guys though. We'll no doubt end up coming back here a couple of times in between so that I can catch up with you all." She told them, a little embarassed at the fact.

They all smiled softly at her before exchanging glances with each other. "Oh no you won't." Kelly told her, causing Anna to look up sharply, thinking that they were about to tell her that they didn't want her to come back.

They all caught the look on Anna's face and Kelly felt terrible. "No, what I mean is that, you won't need to come back, we're all going to come with you." She hurried to explain.

Anna felt a wash of relief flow over her, although it did leave her feeling slightly foolish that she had thought her friends would do something like that to her. "Sorry. I know none of you would ever do anythiing horrible to me. I guess I still find it a little hard sometimes to get out of the mindset that I've been used to." She explained.

Her friends exchanged glances again, Paul already having snapped up the phone so that he could get an itinery drawn up ready for the afternoon press release. It didn't take him long, everyone he spoke to was willing to bend over backwards to get Anna there, so much so that they were all demanding more than one week of her there, often wanting her to go to two or three different concert halls. Once done, he looked up and caught the looksthat were being exchanged, which caused him to raise an eyebrow, but knew that he would have to ask the others about it later on once Anna had left. "Well, it's all arranged. The itinery is sorted. The worldwide tour will cover 17 countries and 6 months of touring. They can't get enough of you Anna." He told the suprised looking girl, none of them having thought that she would be touring for quite so long.

"Wow. 6 months!?" She exclaimed.

Paul smiled at her. "Yep. There are some great destinations too." He told her, handing her a pieve of paper. "Here's the plan." He told her.

Anna scanned down the list of destinations and towns in which she was to perform, and sure enough it did sound pretty spectacular. She was a little nervous and the thought of performing in Funbari, but knew she would be able to deal with it with her friends and family by her side. Canada was first anyway. "Ok then. Well, I'd better go and let Vinny and Tai know." She told them as she rose and left, waving goodbye tothem all.

Paul turned to look at the others. "Ok, now what was that all about?" He asked them.

They all sighed. "Kel was just telling Anna that we were all going to come with her so that she didn't need to make the trip back here to see us, when she kind of froze on us, as though she thought we were about to tell her that we never wanted to see her again or something." Lewis explained, then sighed again. "It was a lot like how she behaved when I first met her. When she was just coming to terms with the rejection and betrayal of her fiance back in Japan. I guess this tour thing has brought it all to the surface." He specualted.

"I guess that isn't quite as dealt with as we all thought." Paul mused, a little worried that the girl he looked upon as a baby sister was not as emotionally and psychologically healthy as they had previously thought.

"Maybe, but if we're all there to stand by her side, then it should help, especially Tai and Vincent." Lily announced, trying to raise everyones spirits.

The next day in Japan the gang were hanging out in the Tao living room as usual when Hao burst in, grinning like a cheshire cat. "GUESS WHAT?!" He shouted at them.

They all gathered around him, wondering what on earth had caused such a reaction in him. "What on earth is it Hao?" Jun asked, a little suprised at the man.

"I just heard that a certain old friend of ours is embarking on her first ever worldwide tour. And guess who just scored us all FRONT ROW SEATS at her three gigs here in Funbari!?!" He exclaimed.

There was a collective gasp around the room. "You don't mean-? Is she really-? ANNA?!" Jun exclaimed, struggling to get out her sentences.

Hao grinned back at the shocked faces in front of him. "I sure do. So start picking ou your outfits, because the first gig is in just a couple of weeks." He told them.

"OH MY GOD!!" They all exclaimed, the girls all running to embrace him, thankful that they were all going to get to see their friends again. The guys all stood and watched as the girls danced around, pulling Hao along with him, the man looking a little shocked at the sudden move.

"Wait a minute. . . "Came Morty's voice. They all stopped andturned to look at him, wondering what on earth he was sounding so apprehensive about. ". . Er, what about Yoh?" He asked, wondering if their old friend knew about the concerts or even cared.

Hao sighed. "I know. I brought a extra ticket for all of the conerts. Well, I got two for the first one. I figure the only way we'll get him there the first time is if Mia will go with him. Hopefully he'll like it so much that he'll agree to come to the others without her. If they kick up a stink the story is that they were the only tickets they would let me have, got it?" He checked, not wanting any of them to drop him in it.

They all nodded, and smiled again at the thought of maybe being able to get Yoh and Anna back together. None of them, other than Hao, knew that Anna was in any way or form tied to another, and even he didn't know that she was married and hd a little boy. Hao left shortly after so that he could go and find Yoh.

Yoh was sat in the living room of the inn with Mia by his side. Over the past couple of months he had been starting to find that Mia didn't really appear to be all that he thought she was. He had caught her bad mouthing his friens several times. Something he very much did not like. He hadn't told her off for it, as he figured if he did she might continue to hide her true nature from him. The side of her he was just now starting to see. He had always wondered why his friends seemed to stay so far away from him, but now he was beginning to understand, after all, as he had reflected on their interactions over the past few years, he realised that a veil seemed to have been pulled over his eyes somehow with the way that he had seen Mia. She had treated them abominably, and he was ashamed of himself for just now seeing it.

Since he had realised this fact, he had been wondering how to get rid of Mia and make it up to his friends. Thankfully, a form of relief came from Mia's insane gossiping when the doorbell rang. Yoh jumped up. "You sit back and relax for a few minutes, I'll get the door." He told her. He paused in the doorway waiting to see if she was going to evesdrop, satsfied that when she leaned back in the sofa and turned the tv up, he hurried to the door and felt a tidal wave of relirf wash over him when he saw his brother stood there. "Yoh?" Hao asked, a little curious at the strange look he saw on his brothers face.

Yoh glanced behind him, straining his ears to listen, then carefully pulled the door shut behind him. "Oh thank God. I can't believe it. Please give me an excuse to get away from this house now!?" He begged.

Hao felt his eyebrows rise in shock at the way his twin was begging him. "Er, well, I do need to speak to you about something important." He suggested.

Yoh beamed at him and gave him a huge hug. "Give me two seconds." He told him. Hao just watching in slight shock as Yoh raced back into the house. He walked into the living room, placing an apologetic and slightly miffed off look on his face. Mia loked up and saw his expression. "I'm so sorry muffin, but I need to go and speak to someone for a little while. I shouldn't be too long." He told her, secretly hoping that he would never have to come back. "I'll see you later yeah?" He asked her.

Mia looked a little startled. "Ok, er, ok then." She told him.

Yoh smiled genuinely and walked over to her and gave her a peck on the cheek, secretly hoping that he would never have to do anything like that again. He then quickly pulled on his coat and shoes and raced out the front door to where Hao was standing. Yoh grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him away from the house, running down the street and around the corner, where he paused so that he coudl catch his breath slightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't tell you how relieved I am to get away from her." He confided.

"What? I thought you loved Mia? That she was the girl you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?" He asked, an eyebrow raised in specualtion.

Yoh cringed. "Urgh, no! I can't stand her anymore. I can't believe how long it's taken me to realise what a bitch she is. I was so lucky to have Anna. I took her for granted and then she was gone. I fooled mysefl into thinking that Mia was just as good, pretended that she was Anna mostly, but it's not working anymore. I can't stand her. THe things she says about my friends, never mind her own. The way she controls every single little move I make. I used to think Anna was a control freak, but compared to Mia, I had complete freedom with her." He sighed, then turned to Hao. "Anyway, you said you needed to talk to me about something?" He asked.

Hao snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, right, well, mamybe we should go and get a drink. Len's house is nearby. It would give you the chance to try and make it up with your friends?" He suggested.

Yoh nodded, bracing himself for the grovelling he would have to do and the shouting and insulting that they would do. THe pair travelled in silence, Yoh slightly suprised at how well his brother seemed to know the way there. He soon understood why when they walked in, Hao only giving a brief knock before he walked in, shouting that he was back. A voice drifted to them from the living room. "Hey Hao, come on through, you know where we are." They called.

Yoh followed his brother into the living room where he found all of his friends sitting around and relaxing, just like they used to do at the inn. Hao cleared his throat. "Er, guys, there's someone here who wants to talk to you." He told them, before stepping aside to reveal Yoh.

He watched their reactions, sure that they would get angry and glare at him, but they didn't. THey sat and stared at him, watching him warily, nervous that he was going to start talking about Mia again, and how great anf oh-so-brilliant she was. He cleared his throat a little unsure of what to say. "I know that this is a long time overdue, and in no way adequate for what I've done, or not done more approriately, in the past number of years, but I want you all to know that I'm sorr for everything that has happened. . . For Anna leaving, for seeing Mia, for staying with her all this time, for not standing up for you when she bad mouthed you, for not seeing in her what you all saw. I don't really have any excuse, except that I kind of fooled myself into thinking that she was something, someone, that she wasn't." He told them. He bowed his head, ashamed of all that he had put them through.

There was a moments silence as they all took in what he had said. If he had just said sorry and not explained what he was sorry for, then there was no way they would have forgive nhim as they wouldn't have believed that he really had changed. But the way he said it all, the tone of his voice made it seem as though he was relieved to be away from her and was dreading going back to her again. "Why should we believe what you say? Have you really seen some form of light, or are you just trying to worm your way back into our good books so that we can be your audience to brag about Mia to again?" Len asked him, his voice blank, but firm and serious.

Yoh sighed and slumped a little. "I don't know what to tell you. I guess I should just explain everything." He told them, then took a deep breath, slumping to thefloor where he stood. "You see, when I first started seeing Mia, I thought she was great, a bit of fresh air, after Anna. I didn't think she liked me, and was just there so that I could provide her with the easy life I had believed she always wanted. When Anna left and I found out the truth from you all, I was ashamed of what I had done to her, what I had said and thought of her. I did think of splitting up with Mia and going after her, begging her to come back, but as I thought about it, I wondered at why she should. I had never appreciated her, shown her that I loved her, or given her any real reason to think that I really wanted her here. With that in mind I let her go and stayed with Mia. Straight off I realised that she wasn't Anna, that in fact she was no where near as nice as Anna was, but I stupidly thought that she was all I had, so I tried to pretend that she pretty much was Anna. It seemed to work for a while, made being around her a lot more enjoyable, but I seemed to get too good at pretending. I forgot that she wasn't Anna, that she couldn't replace her, and I seemed to have gone into some wierd trance or something for a year of so where I don't really remember anything she did or said. I can't tell you how or why, because I don't really know, all I know is that there is a years worth of blanks when I thin of the time I have sent with Mia. But then I remember losing all of you. Mia moving in. She started badmouthing you again, and this time, I seemed to hear it. From the way she spoke about you all, I knew that this wasn't the first time that she had done stuff like that, and it didn't take me long to figure out that that's the reaseon you've all kept your distance. I've realised now that she's not Anna, that she never was and never could be, their polar opposites, without a single thing in common. Mia's become so controlling that I feel like I'm suffocating when I'm around her, which is rather a lot when you share a house with someone." He told them, smirking a little at the irony. He sighed. "I think I about dragged Hao away from the inn just so that I could get away from her. I want to break up with her so much, but haven't a single clue as to what to say or how to even go about it so that I still remain in one pieve at the end of it. Her friends have told me about her previous break ups and none of them were ever as serious as this somehow seems to have gotten." He sighed. "But you don't want to know all that, all I can say is that I'm more sorry for everything I've put you through than I am capable of putting into words." He finished, staring helplessly down at his hands.

The gang all glanced at each other, before walking over to Yoh and pulling him to his feet, he looked up at them, slightly suprised to see the small smiles on their faces. "Well, really, if you wanted to get away from her, all you had to do was tell us. We would have kept you busy every second of every day, that way you would never have to see her." Len told him as he led his friend over to the sofa, all of them giving him a sort of welcoming hug, to let him know that they forgave him. The girls were the last to approach, still seeming a bit wary, Jun most of all.

"So, what would you do if you had the chance to change one thing in the past?" She asked as a sort of test.

"I would go back and stop myself from ever agreeing to go anywhere with Mia. I would stay with Anna, make more of an effort to get to know her, to show her how much I loved her, cared about her." He answered in a sad sort of whisper.

They all looked at Jun, wondering if he had passed and been forgiven yet. She sighed at the broken man in front of he and pulled him into a hug. "I forgive you Yoh." She told him.

Yoh gave her a small smile and slumped back down before he turned to his brother, feeling as though a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "So, bro, I think you wanted to talk to me about something?" He asked.

They all stared wide eyed and Hao. "You mean you haven't told him yet?" Pirika asked, shocked.

Yoh looked around a little confused. "Told me what?" He asked a little hesitantly.

Hao sighed. "Well, the thing is, Yoh, what do you know about Anna's life after she left you?" He asked, figuring it was better off to start with what he already knew.

Yoh shrugged. "Nothing really, just that she left the country. That's all grandma would tell me." He told them. They all seemed a little suprised at his lck of knowledge. "Why?" He asked.

Taking a deep breath Hao prepared himself to explain all. "Well, Anna did leave the country, she got the first flight she could out of Japan and went to live in the US. She ended up with a leading roll in a blockbuster film called 'Rock star' I've seen it around here somewhere." He told him offhandedly. "Well, after that, Anna was offered a record contract because of what an amazing singer she is. She released an album and was invited to go on a reality tv show called Dancing with the stars. She was really good and seemed to get along rather well with her partner, a professional called Vincent who seemed a bit smitten on her, but then nearly all the US is in love with her. That was when we first found out that she was in the US. After that, we started spending Saturdays nights here, watching Anna on the tv, voting for her so that she would win, which she did. After that she seemed to disappear from our radar, all we knew was what we read on the internet, but a lot of it was in foreign languages and we couldn't understand it. We've spent the past 5 years or so trying to find out where she is exactly so that we could go and visit her, but we haven't had any luck." He explained. "Until now. Yesterday I caught wind of a worldwide tour. THe first she's ever done. I went straight down to the box office to get it confirmed then promptly sat down in front of the boothe and stayedthere until it opened up this morning. I was first in line for tickets, and got us each one for every concert she is doing here in Funbari. The Tokyo tickets aren't on sale for another day or so, but I've already reserved us all on for each night there as well. The tickets have already been paid for and I can pick them up tomorrow." He told them.

Everyone nodded, pleased at the news, but more focused on Yoh's reaction. He was shocked but smiling softly. "She's a singer?" He asked softly. THey all nodded. "Tht makes sense. I always did think she had a beautiful singing voice." He whispered, more to himself than the others.

"Wait, you've heard her sing before?" Tamao asked, suprised at the revelation.

Yoh nodded. "Yeah, when we were a lot younger, just before I left to come here. I sort of stumbled upon her in the woods one day. She had left the house and seemed a bit upset so I had gone to find her and see if she was ok. I remember seeing her sat on a log by the river, a guitar in her hands and just singing. It was so beautiful that I was frozen for a while, unable to move. I didn't realise how long I'd been stood there until she stood and wiped her eyes. It was the only time I've ever seen her cry, well, until that day." He added, sadly.

There was a slightly stunned silence, but Hao recovered first. "Well, the first concert is in a couple of weeks, so that gives you a time limit to break up with Mia, now that we know you want to. Don't worry, we'll give you a helping hand." He assured him, spotting Yoh's suddenly pale face. "I don't get what's so scary about it though." He commented.

Yoh blanched. "All I know is that every boy who has ever broken up with her, somehow winds up missing. I even schecked the police records to make sure they wren't trying to scare me, they weren't. Each of her ex boyfriends is still currently listed as officially missing." He told them.

They all felt their eyes widen at the sudden danger their friend seemed to be in. "Well, that explains a lot." HoroHoro stated, uneasily.

"Well, there's no way she's going to get anywhere near you." Eliza stated firmly. "We have ghosts and spirits around us, which she can not see. If amidamaru is with you at all times, and you have a restraining order taken out on her and anyone related or connected to her, then there's no way she can get anyone anywhere near you without being arrested and charged. See what that dos for her carreer." She smirked triumphantly.

Everyone grinned at her. "That's brilliant. But how do I actually break up with her?" He asked.

They al llooked at him, hopelessly."Are you seriously telling us that you don't know how to break up with a girl?" They asked him.

"The only girl I've ever really been connected to is Anna, and she broke up with me, and then Mia, but she's not a girl, she's a himicidal maniac!" He exclaimed, giving them a look which said 'duh'.

They all sighed and thought it through until they came up with the plan of a script. They made a script which they got Yoh to memorize then ran through it till he knew it backwards and had a line prepared for every eventuality. They all then followed him back to the inn, to give him some moral support. As soon as they all reached the front door, Yoh took a deep breath, feeling nervous but not as terrified as he would do if his friends weren't there. He then nodded to his brother and led the way inside. "Hey honey, I'm glad you're home. I just finished making dinner for you." She called, the sound coming from the kitchen.

Yoh gulped then walked through, his friends lingering outside. "Mia, we need to talk." He stated firmly, sounding more confident than he felt.

Mia looked up from where she was sat at the table. "Oh, why, is there something wrong?" She asked in that kind of tone that said she knew perfectly well what was wrong but she was going to make this as difficult for you as possible.

Nodding, Yoh replied, his face set. "Yes, you know there is. Mia, I've been unfair to you. I've pretty much led you on to believe that I had fallen in love with you. . . I haven't, I just fooled myself into thinking that you were someone else, the person that I loved and cared about. I'm not sure why I did it, and I'm sorry it went on for so long, but I can't do it anymore. I can't pretend that I'm in love with you when I'm not. It isn't fair to either of us, especially as I know there are loads of great guys out there who would give their left arm just to hang out with you for a few hours." He told her. He already knew that she hung out with other guys behind his back, but didn't really think now was the right time to bring that up.

Mia sat there slightly stunned for a moment before she started smiling. "Oh well. Never mind. I guess it was about that time. If you hadn't done I would have soon anyway, after all, I like Jake way more than you Yoh. Well, I'll just go and pack my stuff and then I'll be out of your hair." She told him calmly.

Yoh stood there slightly stunned at how well it had gone, his friends joining him just after Mia left the room. "I thought you said she'd go mental when you broke up with her?" Ryo asked, slightly unnerved at how well the girl had taken it.

"I know, her friends made me believe that she would. I guess she doesn't really care because she's got this Jake guy that she can date now. Not that I'm complaining, but do any of you think she maybe took that a little too well?" He asked.

They all exchanged glances. "I don't know, but keep Amidamaru with you at all times, just to make sure." They suggested.

A few moments later Mia walked back downstairs and into the kitchen where they were all hanging out. "Ok, I'm all packed. It was nice knowing you Yoh, I had a lot of fun with you. Well, see you around maybe?" She asked him, smiling little sadly.

Yoh nodded, shaking her outstretched hand cautiously. "Mia? Aren't you mad at me?" He asked her.

Mia smiled. "A little hurt maybe that you made a fool out of me for so long, but I already found out that I don't love you, so I knew one of us would have to end it eventually. I'm just kind of glad it wasn't me, I'm useless at breaking up with people, the last 3 guys I broke up with ended up running away from home. Haven't been seen for several years, but their parents aren't panicking anymore, so I figure they know where they are." She explained.

They all nodded in understanding, but Pirika couldn't help herself. "Wow, either those boys really loved you and possibly had a few mental problems or you're really bad at breaking up with people." She suggested.

Mia smirked. "Yeah, I guess it was a bit of a mix with all three, but it didn't help that they would miss the point I was trying to make so much that I would end up shouting it at them over and over, just to make sure that they had understood me." She shrugged. "Oh well. Bye." She stated, then walked out, leaving her key on the side table.

They all turned to look at Yoh. "Guess you didn't need to worry so much after all." They assured him, smirking a little.

Back in LA, Anna was just returning home from her meeting with Jaques who was helping her to get all her outfits ready for her tour. They were both a little frazzled as they suddenly realised how little time they had, but they had worked out and started following a plan which would have them all ready to go in just a couple of days, which was good because it was only a week until she had to leave.

As she pulled up she noticed that there was an extra car in the driveway, one she hadn't seen before. She wondered if a friend had gotten a new car or if one of Vincent's friends had come around for a while, after all, she had never seen any of their cars, they always rode taxi's when she saw them. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she grabbed her bag and stepped out the car, locking it before walking into the house. "Hello?" She called.

"MUMMY!" Came a little voice. Anna smiled and walked towards the living room, Tai running out and throwing his arms around her legs. Chuckling, Anna bent down and lifted Tai off the floor to balance him on her hip. She smiled softly at him.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you?" She asked.

Tai grinned. "Great. When do we leave for the world tour?" He asked.

Anna smirked at him, he asked her the same question every time he saw her. "I a week Tai, but you're coming the day after mummy and Uncle Paul have gone as there isn't enough room on the plane." She explained.

His face dropped a little. "Why?" He asked.

"There are only 8 seats on the plane, and with James, Lily, Lewis, Kelly, Lucy and Daniel coming as well, Paul and I would have to sit on the roof." She told him, smiling at his little pout. "Aw, don't worry sweetie. As soon as I step off that plane it will be sent straight back to get you. I don't want to start my tour without you now do I?" She asked.

"But can't I fly with you and uncle Paul?" He asked.

Anna looked into his face and saw that he really did want to fly with her. She sighed softly. "We'll see, now I remember making a promise to you that I would tell you all about the shaman tournament, now that we know for sure you're a shaman." She told him, her eyes alight with mischief. "So, wh don't you go wait in the den, and get yourself comfy? I'll just go say hello to daddy and then I'll be with you." She told him, placing him down on the ground again, only for him to cher and run off. She smiled after him then turned to go to the kitchen.

As soon as she entered everyone looked up. "Belle! I'm glad you're home. These guys have been nagging at me for ages about ho we're going to get there. None of them want to fly seperate to you and Paul you know." He told her, putting up a front that he was wounded.

Chuckling, Anna walked over to her husband and gave him a kiss. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. Although, Tai's just said the same thing to me. He doesn't want me and Paul to fly alone either. Gave me the pout and everything. A trait I am blaming you for him having learnt." She told him, frowning a little at him.

Vincene feigned ignorance ,but everyone just laughed, knowing him well enough for him to have used the infamous pout on all of them at some point. "Yes, well, anyway. I have to go tell Tai a story, but then I'll be back and we can figure out a plan or something." She suggested. They all nodded and Anna grabbed a small snack for Tai and a cup of coffee for herself, then left the room, walking down the hall to the den.

As soon as she had gone they all smirked. "That was perfect. If Tai flys with Anna and Paul, then you can go and fetch the present from Louisiana, then meet us back here for th flight. That way Tai doesn't have to know. Or can help us distract Anna, if we need him to." Kelly stated, happily.

Vincent nodded. "I know. Do you think she'll like it?" He asked them.

"Like it!? She'll love it, you know she will. Anna loves you and Tai more than anything else in the world. She got so worried about you when you both fell sick that time, that it took us an hour to calm her down and assure her that neither of you were dying. She then went into full nurse mode and started treating you like the sick people that you were, although she may have gone a little overboard." Lewis pondered.

"Yeah, two doctors coming every 6 hours, may be just a little extreme." Vincent smirked at them, all of them laughing at the memory.

A couple of hours later after Anna had finished telling Tai all about the shaman tournament and the adventures of the current shaman king, Tai had run off to his room, wanting to play with the shaman toys that Anna had had made specially for him. They were one of a kind, so very rare and very expensive, but worth way more than what she paid to have them made. Collectors would give their left and right arms just to get a hold of one of them.

When Anna walked into the kitchen she saw all her friends and her husband chatting about the trip and deciding what they should take and whatnot. They all stopped when she walked in and sat down at the table, her cold cup of coffee still in her hands. "So, how's Tai?" Vincent asked.

"Enhusiastic, and persistant. He's still asking if he can fly with me and Paul." She told them.

They all nodded. "Well, why doesn't he?" Vincent asked.

Anna looked at him. "What?" She asked. "But we'll be setting everything up. He'll be bored." She told him.

"No he won't. He's never seen you on tour before, he's always awed about the way people do anything you tell them to. He'd love to see you do it on such a large scale." Vincent told her.

Anna was still skeptical. "I don't know, it could be dangerous." She pointed out.

"He'll be fine, he'll be by your side at all times. You don't need to worry, and we'll be with you two days later, what with the time it'll take for the plane to refuel, make it back here, refuel again and then fly back to Japan." Lewis explained, trying to make her feel more at ease.

Anna sighed. "Well, I can see I'm not going to win this one, I am completely outnumbered. I guess Tai flies with Paul and I." She stated, sighing, but smiling all the same at the triumphant looks on their faces.

It was almost a week later and Anna was on her way to the airport with Paul and Tai, Vincent was driving them as he said that he had to go and fetch something anyway. Anna couldn't help but wonder at what it was, after all, no one had a birthday for several months still, their anniversay was 5 months away, and she had already picked up all the dry cleaning several days ago. She figured she wouldn't be able to get it out of him until he arrived in Japan.

When they reached the airport they al climbed out, and Paul gave a nod to Vincent ad climbed aboard the plane to make sure everything was ready whilst they all said their temprary goodbyes. "Ok Tai, buddy, you'd better go get on the plane. But before you do, come here and give daddy a hug." Vincent told him. Tai grinned and ran to hug him, a huge smile on his face.

"Love you daddy. Come join us soon, promise?" He asked him, not wanting his dad to be gone for too long.

Vincent nodded. "Of course. I'll be with you in a couple of days along with everyone else ok?" He asked him.

Tai nodded then ran off for the plane, shouting for Uncle Paul to come play with him. Anna smiled then turned to Vincent. "I know that you're up to something and I know you won't tell me what it is, but just promise you won't do anything that could be dangerous or make you ill or hurt you in any way?" She asked him. " don't want to get a call that something's happened to you whilst I'm out of the country." She told him, slightly worried that it would happen just because she hahd thought of it.

She felt strong arms wrap around her and hold her close, and she knew it was Vincent. She let her head rest on his shoulder, listening to his steady heartbeat, letting it reassure her that he was alive and well, and would stay that way. "Don't worry. I love you so much. I'll by your side the whole time. Cheering for you alongside Tai and everyone else. Now, give me a smile before you leave." He told her, turning her face up towards him.

Anna felt a surge of love sourse through her and reached up and kissed him deeply. They kissed for several minutes, both of them feeling as though they could stay that way forever, but eventually Anna pulled back, knowing that her flight was ready to leave and Vinny had stuff to do himself. She gave him a soft smile. "I'll miss you. Don't forget to call me later ok?" She asked.

Vincent nodded, and gave her another strong and comforting hug before shooing her towards the plane, making her laugh at his she was on the plane, she pulled Tai onto her lap and they both waved to Vincent from the window, her husband waving back, grining madly at them as he watched their plane take off. As soon as they were out of sight, he climbed back into the car and began his drive towards Louisiana, where he was going to pick up a special present for Anna, and another toy for Tai.

During the flight Anna sent several prayers up to God and the king of Spirits that Vincent and her firends would be kept safe and well whilst she was gone. She then spent the rest of the flight playing with Tai and chatting with Paul about what they needed to do when they landed.

The flight seemed ratehr short compared to the last flight she had made, although that was going the other way. Once they landed, they waited for the door to open and the steps to fold out, before making their way off the plane, Anna with Tai on her hip and Paul in a suit with his briefcase, which had Anna's purse in it as she was carrying Tai. They reached the bottom of the steps to find two bulky men waiting for them. Anna raised and eyebrow and turned to Paul. "Ah, this is your car which will transport you around the country and what not, and these are your personal bodyguards. They'll be with you at all times, and the drivers, as I know that I can trust them." He told her.

Anna just nodded before climing into the back of the car, strapping both Tai and herself in as Paul climbed in and sat opposite them. "Ok, we'll drop by the hotel first to check in and get you both settled, then we'll run by the concert hall, so that we can get a scope for how it's going to work. Then we have the rest of the evening to ourselves." He told her.

Anna just nodded and turned to Tai, asking him what he wanted to do whilst he was in Japan, knowing that they wouldn't be able to start the list that Vincent had made for another couple of days at least. "Disneyworld." He told her.

"Yes, I kind of figured that, but you need to wait until we get to Tokyo to do that. What about here in Funbari?" She asked.

Tai tilted his head in thought for a moment. "Isn't that where you used to live before you left and met daddy?" He asked innocently.

Paul watched carefully to see how she reacted to the mention of her past. She just smiled softly at Tai and nodded. "It is. I moved here when I was 13 to train the Asakura heir so that he would become shaman King. He's the one I was betrothed to. It was a custom in the older families. But I'm glad I got out of it." She told him.

Tai nodded. "In that case, I want to see all the places you told me about. The park where those zombies attacked the shaman king. The graveyard where the spirits live. The inn where you all hung out. The school you went to, everything." He told her, smiling.

Anna smirked a little. "Well, didn't think my life here was that interesting, but if that's really what you want then so be it. I'll show you the graveyard tonight. I'm sure most of the spirirts I knew are still there. I can introduce you to them. How does that sound?" She asked him.

Tai's whole face lit up, causing both Anna and Paul to smile at him. "That sounds awesome. I can't wait." He told her, before he turned bakc to the tv to watch cartoons.

"Sounds like you two have a dat with the dead tonight." Paul teased.

Anna rolled her eyes, smiling. "That was a bit corny, even for you Paul." She told him.

Paul just shrugged. "Hey what can I say, I felt it I went with it. That's what I do." He told her, making her smile at him.

Just a few minutes later they stopped having arrived at the hotel, all of them climbing out and going in to check in. She had been driven around the back so Anna knew that there were papparazzi out front, somethingshe knew she would have to watch out for here. They walked inside, Anna carrying Tai, not wanting them to get seperated or anything. She let Paul check her in, then followed the bodyguards as they led the way up to her room. She began chatting with them, and found that they were big softies really, but very protective of their charge, i.e. her and Tai. She was glad of this as she knew that they would keep the press away from them when they were out and about, so to speak.

Anna stepped into the room after the bodyguards had given a security sweep and assured that the room was safe for them to enter, she felt a small gasp escape her at how beautiful the room was. She set Tai down and began exploring, spotting a huge vase of flowers in her room. She walked over to the and pulled out the card. She opened it and read it briefly, smiling when she saw who they were from. She wondered idley if this was the suprise that her husband had been trying to order for the past couple of days. She then left her room, setting the card back in it's stand amongst the flowers and went to find Tai.

Tai was playing in his room, having found a new toy waiting for him when he got there, he had just learnt to read, but still had a little difficulty with long words. He looked up when Anna walked in and ran towards her, toy and note in hand. "Mummy, mummy, look what daddy sent me." He told her.

Anna lifted him up and walked over to the bed where she set him down then sat beside him, taking the note from his hands. "'Dear Tai.'" She read. "'I hope that you and mummy have arrived safe and sound. I'm looking forward to seeing you again in a couple of days time. Hope you like the toy and that it will help you pass the time when mummy and uncle Paul are being boring. Lots of love Daddy'"She read.

Tai grinned. "Awesome. Mummy, are you and uncle going to be boring today?" He asked her.

Anna laughed. "I don't know. I guess you'll have to let us know, but we do have to go visit the concert hall so that I can see where I'll be performing." SHe told him. "You might find that a little boring." She told him.

Tai nodded. "Good, then I can play with my new toy." He told her.

A few minutes later and Pual came to collect them, stating that it was time for them to go and check out the hall, to make sure that everything had arrived ready. They all trooped back out to the car and climbed in, Tai playing with his new toy on the way as Ana and Paul talked about the runthrough they had planned for tomorrow afternoon. In next to no time at all, they arrived at the concert hall and all walked in. Anna watching Tai's reaction to see what he thought of the place. "WOW, mummy this place is huge. Are you really going to sing in front of this many people?" He asked her, a little awed at the sheer size of the place.

Anna chuckled at his expression. "I sure am sweetheart. For three nights, and then we go to Tokyo which has an even bigger theatre." She told him, causing hiseyes to widen even more.

"WOW." He exclaimed, taking in everything that was around him.

Anna and Paul wondered around the place, Tai being carried by Anna. For some reason she didn't want to let him out of her sight, worried that someone else would find him and take him away. She knew it was irrational, but she wouldn't feel better until Vincent arrived in a couple of days time.

They didn't linger long as it was starting to get late and they were all hungry. Paul had to go off to meet a coupe of people, but Anna took Tai and the bodyguards out for dinner at what used to be her favourite restaurant here in Funbari. As soon as they walked in Anna smiled, noticing how it hadn't changed in all the time that she had been gone. As soon as the maitre'd noticed who had just stepped into the restaurant, he grabbed the menus and led her through the tables to a private boothe inthe corner, which had an excellent view from out the window. They had just sat down when the manager of the place came to greet her personally. "Miss Kyoutama, it is an honour to have you back here. Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked. "On the house of course." He assured her.

Anna smiled at him. "I'll have a pimms number 1 please, Tai here will have," She leant down to see what it was he wanted. "A lemonade please, and then whatever these two gentlemen would like. But I insist on paying. This is a good place and I don't want to see it go under because you gave me stff on the house." She told him.

The manager made to argue, but knew it was pointless, he had tried it before as he got to know Anna when she was younger and still lived around here.

Their food took next to no time in coming, something which impressed both of the bodyguards, who had eaten there before and whilst they knew the service was quick, it had never been that quick before.

After their meal, Anna paid for everything, even thought the bodyguards wanted to chip in. She refused and forced the manager to take the money. They then walked outside and Anna picked up Tai. "Ok sweetie, we have just enough time to see one thing. What do you want to see?" She asked him.

Tai thought about it for a moment. "I want to see the graveyard where Amidamaru was buried." He told her.

Anna smiled, but sighed a little inside, hoping that the spirits wouldn't blab too much that she had been there. She began to head in that direction, the bodyguards frowning a little when she refused to take th car, but following her closely none the less.

They all arrived there, and Anna was pleased that the bodyguards were shaman too, as it meant that they were able to see the spirits and so didn't think she were crazy when they all started talking to her, greeting her loudly and warmly. As soon as someone set foto in the graveyard, the spirits all looked up and knew instantly that it was Anna, the same Anna they knew from when she lived in Funbari. "ANNA!" Came the collective cry as they all raced over to her. The women making a huge fuss over how cute and adorable Tai was.

Anna introduced them all to Tai, who smiled and waved at each of them, glad that they were as friendly as his mummy had told him they would be. He noticed there was one spirit sat on his own in the corner and pointed him out to Anna. Anna walked over to him, everyone following her and approached the figure. She was just getting close when she gasped, realising who it was. She quickly halted, unsure of whether she should make any introductions now, or save them for later. Her mind was made up for her however, when the spirit sensed that there was someone behind him and he turned around. His eyes widened when he saw who is was. "Anna?" He asked.

Anna sighed and nodded. "Hey there Mosuke." She greeted softly, hoping that Amidamaru wasn't nearby. "So what's new?" She asked him, unsure of what to say.

Mosuke rose from where he sat adn walked over to them, the spirits giving them a little space for a while and going backto their games and parties. "Not a lot really, no one's been up here in a while. Well, except for Amidamaru and Hao. He comes up here a lot actually." He mused.

Anna nodded. "So, everything's ok with him now then?" She asked.

Mosuke nodded and smiled. "Yeah, he's made up with everyone, the gang and Yoh, and even his family. They've all forgiven him and welcomed him into their lives. It's good really, he cheered up the gang when they were down about you and Yoh." He explained.

"They were upset?" She asked, a little suprised.

Mosuke nodded. "Yeah, they seemed really depressed until they caught sight of you on that tv show. Watched it every Saturday night after that. It was called Anna night, we all sat andwatched it, well, except Yoh, but he was being kept occupied by Mia." He explained.

Anna nodded. "Well, Mosuke, I want you to meet Tai." She introduced. She looked down at the little boy on her hip who was watching the interaction curiously. "Tai, this is Mosuke, Amidamaru's best friend, he made Amidamaru's swords for him." She explained. "He was killed because his swords were so fine." She explained.

Tai frowned. "That wasn''t very fair. You shouldn't be punished because you're good at something." He stated, causing the spirit to chuckle and Anna to smile.

"I know. It wasn't very fair, but Amidamaru and I have long since left all that behind us." He told the young boy. "But how old are you young one?" He asked.

Tai smiled. "I'm three, going on four." He announced proudly, causing Anna to smile.

Anna came back to herself. "Well, we better be getting back to the hotel. You won't tell the others that we're here will you?" She asked him.

Mosuke rose an eyebrow, slightly suprised at her request. "Very well, I will say nothing." He told her. He already knew that he would send one ofthe other spirits to blab to them of her arrival. That way he could still let them know but he wouldn't have to break his word to her.

Anna thanked him and bid farewell to him and the other spirits, Tai waving goodbye as well. The bodyguards followed them down the hill and back to the car, all of them noticing that Tai was having a little trouble keeping his eyes open. Barely a minute into the journey back to the hotel and Tai was fast asleep, his head resting on Anna's shoulder.

When they got back to the hotel, Anna tucked Tai in then went to sit in the living area. She settled herself down on the sofa before picking up the phone and dialling Vincents number, already knowing that he wouldn't be at home. It only rang twice before he picked up. "Hey Belle." He greeted warmly.

Anna felt herself smile just at hearing his voice. "Hey Vinny. How are you?" She asked him.

"Good, thanks you? How's Tai doing?" He asked.

"We're doing fine, but I just put Tai down. He fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel. I miss you though, and I know Tai's looking forward to seeing you. Thank you for the roses. They're gorgeous. Tai loves his toy, he kept asking me whether Uncle Paul and I were going to be boring." She smiled when he laughed.

"Well, you're most welcome. I have another suprise with me now, but you can't have it till I get there." He told her.

She sighed. "You would have to tell me wouldn't you, you know I won't be able to stop thinking about what it is now." She told him, sounding a little sulky.

He chuckled at her. "It's no use, that won't work on me. I've developed the ability to defend myself against that tone, although I am still completly immune to the look, but I don't need to worry about that one." He told her.

Anna huffed. Fine, then I won't tell you about what Tai and I did this evening." She told him.

"Ooh, that's mean. It's hard not being there with you you know." He told her.

Anna caved. "Fine, I'll tell, but Tai will want to tell you all over again when you get here. He did seem to find it rather exciting." She told him.

"Really? Well, what did you do?" He asked, sounding rather curious.

"Well, on the plane I asked him what he wanted to do whilst we were in Funbari, and hetold me that he wanted to see all the places from the stories I'd told him aboutthe shaman tournament, where I lived, where I went to school, and of course, the graveyard. We only had time to visit one of them today, and Tai chose the graveyard. Suprise suprise." She added, hearing her husband chuckled down the phone. "Anyway, I met up with some old friends there. One of which I wasn;t all that pleased to meet. I know he'll find some way to get around his promise and let theothers know that I'm back here. I had hoped to wait a little, at least until you and the others were here before I had to meet them, but I get the feeling that they won't wait that long." She confided.

"Hey, don't worry, you're strong, and if they do or say anything that you don't like then just tell Paul or the bodyguards and they'll get them out of there pronto, or you depending on where you are at the time. We'll all be there with you in just 36 hours. Keep your chin up and I'll see you soon." He told her. "I miss you a lot too you know." He told her.

Anna smiled, but felt a tear in her eye, she quickly brushed it away and sniffed though, hoping that he wouldn't know. "I know. I love you so much, it just doesn't seem right to be here without you." She told him.

"Aw, come on, don't cry, I'll end up crying with you, then everyone will laugh at me." He told her, wanting to hear her laugh. "Can you picture the looks I would get if people saw me crying. I cringe just thinking of Lewis and James laughing at me. We'd probably have to give them oxygen masks to try and calm them down." He told her, amusement in his voice.

Anna laughed, knowing that Lewis and James would probably wet themselves laughing if they caught him crying. "Yeah, there'd probably be puddles on the floor as well, well, that is until Kelly and Lily hit them over the head and they snapped back to reality and started crying themselves." She told him laughing.

Vincent laughed with her. Happy to hear her laugh, realising just how much he loved her. "I know. That would be something to see, huh?" He asked.

"You know it." She told him. She sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better go to bed, the sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I get to sleep, the sooner I wake up and the closer I am to seeing you step off that plane." She told him.

"Ok then Belle. I'll do the same. Love you, see you soon." He told her.

She smiled. "Love you too, so much." She told him.

"I know. Now, you hang up, so I know you're ok." He told her.

She scoffed, not seeing any kind of logic in that, but would do so anyway. "Ok then, love you see you soon." She told him before hanging up. Once she put the phone don she let out a huge sigh then stood up and went to check on Tai before walking into her own room and getting changd for bed. There was an emergency button on her bedside table and the bodyguards were in the rooms on eithr side of her and Tai, both of which had security links in them which gave them a view of the corridoor outside her room.

Over at the Inn, the gang were all chilling in the living room, a heppy feeling that they were back in the normal hang out, only they had Hao this time. They still missed Anna, but the feeling was dulled somewhat as they knew that they would all be seeing her soon, they just didn't realise how soon. Suddenly a spirit burst into the room zooming through the wall. "Amidamaru, Amidamaru!" The man called.

They all looked up, Amidamaru springing to attention, wondering what on earth had happened. "What is it Benji?" He asked the young man.

"It's Masuke. He sent me to give you a message." He told him.

Everyone sprang up, worried that the something had happened to the spirirt. "What is it? Is he alright?" He asked urgently.

"Huh? Oh, yes, he's fine, sorry. I guess I got a little overexcited. It's just we've had a visiter this evening, and we're all a little excited about it." He tried to reassure them.

"Benji calm down, you're not making any sense." Amidamaru told the man.

"Oh right. Well, what I'm trying to tell you is that ANNA is back!" He told them.

They all gasped. "Are you sure?" Jun asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, she called by a couple of hours ago, I would have come sooner, but there was a bit of an srguement over who got to come and tell you about it. Masuke would have come himself, but Anna made him promise not to tell you that she was there." He explained. "She spoke to all of us, remembered each of our names. It was amazing, she's changed so much. She's absolutely stunning, and she had the most adorable little boy with her." He told them.

They all froze in the middle of their celebrations. "Little boy?" They asked.

"Yeah, absolutley adorable, only 2 or 3, but so polite, a little shy maybe, and those bodyguards are a little intimidating, but she seemed quite happy." He told them.

"Right. Er, thank you Benjo for letting us know, and thank Masuke for me as well would you. Tell him I'll drop by when I can, but he is always free to come stay here." He told the spirit. Benji just nodded before disappearing again.

Everyone exchanged glances. "Do you think the little boy is Anna's?" HoroHoro asked, a little nervously.

They all shrugged. "I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out. We'll see if we can run into her at some point. If she told Masuke not to tell us she was back, then something tells me that we wouldn't get into the hotel she's staying in either." Hao commented.

They all nodded, and wondered what they should do, or more precisely, where they should go. They stayed up talking about it for a while, before they all went off to bed, hoping that they would see their long lost friend again the next day.

The next day, Anna woke up to the sound of crying. Anna was awake at once and she sprang out of bed and ran from the room and into Tai's where she found him still asleep but sobbing. Anna felt her heart drop a little, at the thought of her baby dreaming of something so bad that it upset him so much. SHe walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms, humming the lullaby she sang to him when he was a baby. It only took a few moments for the tune to register and Tai calmed down, beginning to stir. He woke up to see his mummy in front of him and threw his arms around her, sobbing as he remembered the dream. "MUMMY!" He excalimed. "Please don't ever leave me." He told her.

Anna rocked him gently. "Hey, sweetheart, I would never leave you. I'm here, and you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you ok?" She promised him.

Tai sniffled a little but nodded his head. "Ok. So you won't leave me on my own, or try and cross the road when there's a truck coming?" He asked.

Anna felt her eyes widen, understanding what had happened in his dream. "Oh, Tai, sweetheart, of course not. I love you far too much to ever think about leaving you. I would never leave you alone, ok?" SHe told him, hoping that he understood.

Tai nodded. "Ok then, if you say so mummy." He sniffled.

Anna smiled at him. "That's better, now let me see a smile." She told him. Tai gave a small smile. "Oh, I think we can do better than that." She told him, grinning mischievously. She then lay him down on the bed and started to tickle him, until he was laughing so hard he was crying. "That's more like it." She told him, lifting him off the bed and spinning him around. "Right, now lets go get you some breakfast ok?" She told him, carrying him out into the kitchen area of their room. She set him down at the table and had a look in the fridge. "So, what do you think Tai? Pancakes, or toast?" She asked.

"Pancakes!" He cried.

"Anna laughed. "Ok, pancakes it is." She told him, pulling out the ingrediants and turning on the hob and placing a pan on the top. Tai just watched as she worked away, in next to no time placing a large plate of pancakes in front of him, although she had already cut them up into tny pieces so that he wouldn't choke or anything. She then turned the tv on for him so that he could watch some cartoons whilst she got ready.

Within 30 minutes Anna was washed and dressed ready for the day ahead. She glanced at the clock and was pleased to see that in 24 hours Vincent and her friends would be by her side. She went back into the ktichen to see that Tai had finished his breakfast and was now laughing at the cartoon on the tv. She smiled softly, pleased that the young boy had come with her. She then snuck up behind him and scooped him out of the chair, causing the boy to giggle. "Right then young man, lets get you dressed and we can go and see a couple of things before the rehursal later on." She told him.

Tai cheered and fidgeted in her arms until she put him down. He then ran into his bedroom to pick out some clothes, wanting to hurry up and get ready so that they could go. Anna walked in to find him pulling all the clothes out of his closet. "Er Tai? What are you looking for?" She asked him.

"My jeans and favourite shaman t-shirt." He told her. "The one you and daddy got me for Christmas last year." He added.

Anna smiled and walked over to him and picked them out of the pile he had discarded on the floor. "You mean these?" She asked, holding them up.

"Yes, that's them. Ok, now what do we need"? He thought to himself, making Anna chuckle.

"First we need to get you washed and your teeth cleaned." She told him, leading him into the bathrom, where she bathed him and helped him to clean his teeth. Once that was done she helped him into his clothes and tied the laces on his shoes for him. Once they were both ready, Anna lifted Tai up and balanced him on her hip. She then slung her handbag over her shoulder, although she would ask one of the bodyguards to carry it. She had used her black one so that it didn't look too girly, that way they wouldn't feel so stupid carrying it for her.

They left the room and knocked on the door either side of their room. The two bodyguards were there immediately, both immaculately dressed and smiling at the pair. Straight away they took her handbag from her and asked them if everything was ok. She assured them that it was, then walked over to Paul's room, and knocked on the door. The man stumbled around the room until he reached the door. As soon as he opened it Tai burst out laughing and he realised that he only had his boxers and a t-shirt on. He noticed Anna blushing and quickly pushed the door a little ways shut, to save them all from further embarassment. "Er, is everytrhing ok?" He asked her.

Anna nodded. "Yeah, I was just going to tell you that we're nipping out for a little while, but will be at the concert hall for 3 for the rehursal." SHe told him.

Paul yawned and nodded. "Ok, then. Do you need me to come with?" He asked her, knowing that there was a possibility of her bumping into her ex and her friends around here.

Anna smirked at his attire. "No, that's ok, why don't you go get a little more sleep, or at least find a better outfit for the rehursal." She chuckled, Tai laughing as Anna and the bodyguards tried to muffle their laughter.

Paul rolled his eyes at her. "You're a regular riot you are." He told her. "Just be careful ok? I'm just a call away if you need me ok?" He asked.

Anna nodded, still smirking. She then turned and walked away, Tai still laughing as he looked back at Paul over her shoulder. As soon as they were in the elevator they all burst out laughing, glad that no one else got in on the way down. They would have thought they were all quite mad, laughing that way. Once they had all calmed down a little, Anna turned to Tai. "Ok then sweetie, where do we start?" She asked him.

"Where you used to live!" He told her. Wanting to see her old home.

Anna smiled, secretly dreading this part the most, knowing it was where they all hung out. She took a deep breath and nodded before stepping out the elevator and out of the hotel. The guards followed her as she led the way through the streets until they reached the street where the inn was. She stopped at the top of the street ans set Tai down. "Here we are. I used to live just along here. Do you want a closer look?" She asked him.

Tai noded. "Yeah." He said, his face lit up, excited to be seeing where his mummy used to live. Anna took hold of his hand and they walked a little ways down the street until they reached the front gates of the inn. Anna lifted Tai up so that he could see over the fence inside. "Wow, that's a big house." He marvelled.

Anna chuckled. "It's called an inn. It's a bit like a hotel, but it has a hot springs as well. We needed something that big because our friends used to pretty much live there as well, some of them always stayed over the night. It was a good place to be as it had plenty of space for me to train Yoh." She explained to him.

Tai nodded. "What did you used to do to him?" He asked.

"Well, I had him run laps and circuits that I set up around the town. I would make him do these with weights on his wrists and ankles to build up his strength as it makes a spirit team stronger when they fight together. I used to get him to do sit ups and press ups, made him work on his spirit possession, made him quicker so that he would have the advantage in a fight." She explained.

"Will you train me mummy?" He asked her.

Anna smiled. "Only when you're older." She told him.

"Aaaawww." He whined.

"You'll understand why when you start to train." She laughed at his eargerness.

"Anna?" A voice came from behind her.

Anna froze before she whirled around, her eyes widening when she saw all the people she had been hoping to avoid stood just behind her, a few bags with them. She took a deep breath. "Hi." She gave a small smile, the nerves and awkwardness clear on her face.

"Mummy?" Tai asked, a little unnerved at seeing these new people.

"Yes sweetie, are you ok?" She asked, worried that something was wrong.

"Are they the people from your stories?" He asked, tentatively.

Anna gave him a soft smile, her entire face softening. "Yes, they are. You see the man in the middle, the one with the shorter hair, not the really long hair?" She asked. Tai nodded. "Well, that is Yoh Asakura, the Shaman King." She stated.

Tai's jaw dropped and Anna smiled slightly at his face, a shine of amusement in her eyes. She then turned to the others. "Well, I get the feeling this isn't going to be the last time I see you all while I'm here. But I promised Tai I'd show him a few things." She told them, she began to walk away, the bodyguards following her.

"WAIT!" Jun shouted, not watning her best friend to just leave like that. Anna stopped but she didn't turn around. "Won't you stay just a little while?" She asked.

Anna sighed. She glanced at Tai who was watching them curiously. "I have a rehursal at 3, come to the concert hall a 4 and we can go grab something to eat." She told them.

They nodded, all of them smiling, Hao with a curious look on his face as he looked at Tai. Anna noticed this and shot him a questioning look. "So, is this your little boy?" He asked, all of them going silent, as they waited for an answer.

"Yes. Guys this is Tai. Tai, this is the gang, Hao, HoroHoro,Tamao, Len, Pirika, Jun, Pailong, Ryo, Faust, Eliza, Yoh, Amidamaru, Bason, Kori, Tokagero, and Morty." She introduced, all of them giving a nod and a smile when she said their names. "If you still want to meet up later come to the hall, but I can't linger right now." She told them. She then turned and walked away.

As soon as they were out of sight, Anna stopped and took a deep breath to compose herself. Tai looked at her. "Mummy, are you alright?" He asked, a little worried.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine sweetheart, I just didn't expect to see them again too soon. She looked him in the eyes. "I don't want you to trust them too much ok? They hurt mummy before, and I wouldn't put it past them to do it again. I don't want them to hurt you ok?" She told him.

Tai nodded, deciding that he didn't like them all that much because they had hurt his mummy. He would talk to his daddy about them when he arrived. He knew that he would sort it all out.

They then left the area and Anna showed Tai around a little more. They soon forgot all about the encounter earlier, although Anna felt it niggling away at the back of her mind. Before they knew it it was time to go to the concert Hall for the run through. They found Paul was already there, when they walked in, talking to some of the tech people. They all looked around when Anna walked in, talking and laughing happily with Tai. "Anna!" He called to her.

Anna smiled and made her way over to him. "Hey Paul, glad to see you decided to chang your outfit." She smirked, Tai chuckling.

"Haha, so funny. Now, why don't I look after Tai, whilst you go and get changed?" He suggested.

Anna nooded and passed Tai over to Paul before waliking off. Paul watched her go then turned to Tai. "Is you mummy ok?" He asked.

Tai sighed. "I think so, but she saw her old friends earlier. They seemed happy to see her, but mummy wasn't so happy to see them." He explained.

Paul sighed understanding what had happened. He hoped that she would be ok. Anna, meanwhile, had reached her dressing room and was getting changed into her dance clothes, i.e. leggings and vest top with soft pump shoes. She tied her heair back from her face and sat and looked in the mirror for a moment. She pulled out her phone and dialled Vincents number. It rang several times but he didn't pick up. She replacedthe phone and sighed, hoping that he was ok. This was the first time he hadn't picked up when she had rang him. She put her phone back in her bag and took a deep breath before leaving the dressing room and making her way to the stage.

For the next hour Anna danced and sang until she and the dancers were in perfect scinc and the routines were perfected. They were just practising the last number when the gang all walked in, well, more like snuck in, not wantint to disturb anything.

As they walked in they saw a group of people sat in the front couple of rows all watching the people of stage, they figured that the ones who were dressed up were the supporting band which would go on before Anna. They then looked up towards the stage as they heard the music start. There was Anna in the middle of the stage lookin happy and healthy, not to mention at home on the stage. They stood there frozen as she sang, amazed at how beautifully she sang at at what an amazing song she was singing.

As she sang the final notes she snapped out of the trance she seemed to go into when she sang to hear applause coming from the back of the room. She looked over, along with everyone else, and spotted the gang. She didn't smile, just nodded a little as she jumped off the stage and spoke to Paul and Tai. A few minutes later and she walked over to them, the pair just behind her. "Well, seems like you're punctual than I remember." She commented.

They all grinned at her. "Yeah, well, we missed you." They told her.

She nodded and let a small, very small smile creep over her face, although it didn't quite seem to reach her eyes. "Right, well, I guess I should go and get changed." She told them. "Give me a minute or so." She told them, walking off.

Paul and Tai stayed and watched them cautiously. "So, which one of you is Yoh?" He asked. Whilst he may have known Hao, he had no idea who the rest of them were.

Yoh raised his hand slightly. "That would be me." He grinned. "And you would be?" He asked.

"Paul. Anna's manager. She's first and foremost a friend though. I know about Anna's past, as do her other friends in LA, all of whom will be here tomorrow morning. So will Vincent, Anna's husband. You might want to watch your step around them, they aren't as forgiving as I am, and certainly not as forgiving as Anna. You really messed her up with what you did to her. It took several years before she really trusted anyone. We all swore to make sure like nothing like that ever happened to her again. Vincent was the one who really gave her hope, the confidence to believe in herself again. He won't be pleased if you knock her again." He told them.

"Oh my God." Jun whispered. "I can't believe it, when she left us, she seemed a little upset but not that bad." She told him.

"Mummy's good at hiding how she feels. That's what daddy say's anyway." Tai piped up. Paul looked over at the little boy and smiled at him.

"Yeah, she was." Pirika murmered.

Back in the dressing room Anna took a deep breath and picked up the phone again. She tried ringing Vincent again but he didn't pick up. She then tried Kelly and Lewis. They didn't pick up the house phone but they did their mobile. "Anna?" Lewis greeted.

"Lewis? Where are you? I don't suppose you know where I can find Vincent do you? I've tried ringing him twice now and he hasn't picked up or got back to me. I'm a little worried." She told him.

There was a moment's silence on the other end of the phone. "Well, we're on the plane now. We need to speak to you Anna. We have some news for you." He told her in a rather grave voice.

"Oh my god what is it? What's happened?" SHe asked, starting to panic a little.

"Anna you need to calm down. Now, come meet us at the airport and we can talk to you." He told her. "We're about to land in about 20 minutes." He told her.

"Ok, I'll be there." She told him. She hung up and quickly got her bits togetther. She then hurried out of the dressing room and into the main hall, where she found them all waiting for her. She ran down the main aisle, her distress clearly expressed on her face. She turned to Paul and her bodyguards. "I need you to go and get the car ready. I have to get to the airport immediately." She told them,

Paul looked at her, worried. "Anna? Whatis it?" He asked, as she took Tai from his arms.

Anna tryed to stop the tears from falling. "Something's happened. I don't know what it is, but Lewis and co are on their way now. I think something might have happened to Vincent. I've tried to ring him twice today and he hasn't picked up. That's never happened." She told him, getting more and more worked up by the minute.

Paul took hold of her. "Ok, we'll go there stragiht away. Go and get in the car. I'll just grab a few bits then I'll be with you." He told her, running off to speak to someone quickly as he ran around grabbing bits and shoving them into his suitcase.

Anna paused and looked at the gang. "I have to go, I'm sorry, but I have to make sure he's alright." She told them.

Jun put an arm around Anna and steered her and Tai out to the car, the little boy beginning to worry. "Anna, you need to calm down a bit. For Tai. Come on, you'restrong, I know you can do this." She told her. "Take a deep breath." She instructed.

Anna did as she was told and calmed down a little. Jun and the others climbed in after determined not to leave her on her own at a time like this. It was obvious how much she loved her husband, and all of them would support her during this time, not matter how disappointed they were that they wouldn't be able to get her back together with Yoh. Paul joined them a few moments later, raising an eyebrow at seeing them all in the car, but he didn't say anything, seeing that Anna was trying her best to stay calm. By the time they reached the airport, she had calmed down completely, convinced that Vincent justhad the flu or something and had been advised not to fly or something.

When they pulled up at the airport Anna looked at Tai and gave him a smile. "Ok, Tai, I want you to stay here with Uncle Paul for a minute, I'm just going to go and speak to the others and then I'll be back ok Sweetie?" She asked him.

"Mummy what's wrong?" He asked her, worried.

Anna took a breath and smiled at him. "Sorry about that sweetheart. Mummy had a bit of a moment. I got rather worked up, over nothing. Everything's fine, I'm sure it is." She told him. Trying to reassure herself at the same time. She gave him a big hug before handing him over to Paul and stepping out of the limo, the others watching her out of the window, although Paul told them to turn away. In order to keep them away from the window and Tai occupied at the same time, he struck up a converation with them, involving both them and Tai, so that he could keep an eye on all of them.

When Anna stepped out of the car she saw the plane had just pulled up on the runway, the door dropped down and her friends all stepped out, a grave look on all their faces. She kept waiting for Vincent to walk out, shouting suprise. As soon as he did she was going to hit him so hard for all the worry he had put her through, she kept waiting, even when all her friends were in front of her and the door shut and the plane rolled away.

They all saw her expectant look at exchanged a glance, feeling their hearts shatter for her, knowing how much this was going to hurt her. Lewis draped an arm around her shoulder as it sunk in that Vincent was going to be getting off the pkane. "Where is he?" She asked them.

"Anna?" Kelly called, turning the girls attention to her. "I don't really know how to tell you this, but Vincent can't come. He drove drove down to Louisiana to pick up these for you and Tai." She started, handing her the disk and action firgue in the shape of Amidamaru, the one he had really been wanting.

Anna looked down at the items in her hand, tears forming in her eyes. "Where is he? Why isn't he here?" She asked, looking between them all.

"Anna, a hrricane hit Louisiana last night. Vincent had already gone to sleep and didn't wake up when they shouted and knocked on his door. He was rushed to hospital in the early hours of this morning. We just got there when they had to pronounce him." James broke it to her.

Anna felt her world crumbling around her. 'No, he can't be gone. He has to be here. I need him. What about Tai, how can I tell him his father's dead, the night he dreamed I died his father actually dies.' She thought to herself. She shook her head, refusing to believe that it was true. "NO. HE'S NOT, HE'S FINE HE HAS TO BE!" She shouted at them. Tears streaming down her face.

She felt the world spinning and her legs trembling. Before she knew what was happening she had collapsed, her friends all shouting her, worried about her. Thankfully Lewis had managed to catch her before she hit the ground. They had had the foresight to call another car to meet them at the airport and they called it over. Lewis went and got in along with the othrs whilst Kelly went over to the other car. She climbed in. "Hey everyone." She called. "Er, driver, Anna's in the other car, so you need to follow that one." She told him. He just nodded having seen what had happened.

"Er, Kel, where's Anna?" He asked.

"Hey little guy, come give auntie Kelly a hug, I've missed you you know." She told him, reaching out for him. Tai gave her a hug, wondering why his mummy was in the other car. She looked over his head, and pressed a hand to the side on Tai's head so that he couldn't hear her. "Vincent was caught in a hurricane last night. He slept through it ad ended up being rushed into hospital. He didn't make it." She told them, her voice thick with emotion.

"Oh my God." He whispered. Kelly just clung to Tai a little tighter. "Anna?" He asked.

"She passed out. She was too upset. Sobbing, everything. Her face when we got off the plane, she kept looking for him, it was heartbreaking. I don't know what to do for her." She told him. "She kept shouting that it couldn't be true, that he couldn't have died, that we were lying." She told them. Her heart going out to her friend, wondering how she'd feel if something like that happened to Lewis.

"Anna." They all murmered.

"Stop. We're here." She told the driver. She took hold of Tai and ket him turned so that he could only see over her shoulder. She stepped out of the car and followed Lewis, who was carrying Anna, up the stairs, to her room. They had the whole floor for their own use, so there was no chance of them being disturbed. Kelly followed Lewis into Anna's room where he walked into her room and lay her down on the bed. Kelly took Tai into his room, Lily and James following, she left them there to play with him and keep him occupied for a while whilst they waited for Anna to wake up. Lewis walked in and Lily and Kelly left to go and tend to Anna.

When they walked into her room they saw Paul by her side, worried that she still hadn't woken up yet. "What are these?" He asked, them, having spotted the disc and the action figure.

"What he went to pick up from Louisiana." Kelly told him.

He just nodded. "It doesn't look like sh'e going to wake up for a minute or two. Whilst she's out, we need to wonder what we're going to do about that lot out there." He indicated the living area, where they had all been made to wait.

"Who are they?" Lily asked.

"Her old friends and her ex." He replied.

Both womens's faces darkened at the thought of them being here at a time like this. "We'll go talk to them." Lily told him. "You wait here with Anna." She told Kelly, dragging Paul out with her.

In the living area, Lily and Paul stepped out of Anna's room to greet her friends. Lily cleared her throat for attention. They all turned to her, Jun approaching her. "How's Anna?" She asked, the worry on her face made them both realise that this could only be Jun.

Lily gave the girl a small smile. "You must be Jun, is that right?" She asked.

Jun nodded, slightly taken aback that this relative stranger knew who she was, but then she realised that Anna must have spoken about them. "Yes, I am."She told her.

"Hi, I'm Lily, James's husband and one of Anna's friends. We met on the set of her film." She explained to them.

"Of course." Jun exclaimed. "I thought you seemed familiar, you were Monica, the Keyboardist in the Band that Anna played the singer in right?" She asked, enthusiastically.

Lily grinned, understanding why Anna was friends with this girl. "You saw the film?" She asked, smiling at her.

Jun nodded. "Of course. We've seen everything with Anna in it. We watched her every week on that dance show, dancing with the stars." She explained. "And we've got a copy of every single and album she's made yet." She told her.

Lily nodded. "Well, she's not woken up yet. We're not really sure when she will. When she's ready I suppose." She sighed. "But I guess you've all probably got a few questions about Anna's life now. We'll answer what we can." She told them.

They all nodded and took a seat around the room, Paul and Lily sharing a couch with the others gatehred around them. Yoh cleared his throat. "So, how long have Anna and Vincent been together?" He asked.

Lily looked him over, and narrowed her eyes slightly realising who he was. "5 years, they're been married for 4. Although I don't really see why you woud care about that." She told him.

They all raised an eyebrow at the way they treated Yoh compared to Jun. "So, how old's Tai?" Eliza asked.

Lily smiled again. "He's not long turned 3. He's Anna's pride and joy, the apple of her eye so to speak. She absolutely adores him. I guess it's why we're a little worried about how she's going to cope with this." She told her.

"What do you mean?" Pirika asked.

"Well, Anna loves Vincent more than anything, with the possible exception of Tai. But that's part of the problem. Anna's the kind of person who will repress her own grieving in order ot help Tai deal with the loss of his father. We need to make sure that she does actually grieve for Vincent, otherwise she won't be able to move on with her life. She'll just be putting it off until Tai grows up and moves away so to speak." She told them.

"So, how long have you all been friends with Anna?" HoroHoro asked.

Lily smiled at him. "Since we first met her. How can you not. I think the entire US is in love with her. She's the sweetheart of the country, and I know that a lot of people will be posting notices on her facebook site today sending her their prayers and sympathies with her current situation." She told them.

Yoh cleared his throat again. "Why do you seem to hate me and not any of the others?" He asked.

Lily narrowed her eyes, glaring at him, unnerving Yoh slightly. "Because of what you did to her. Do you have any idea how different that girl in there is compared to the one we met when she first arrived in LA?" She asked him. "You can't do, otherwise you would know why we all dislike you a lot." She told him. "Anna was broken when we met her, she was sad, didn't believe in herself or any of her talents. She was shy, afraid to say what she thought, and wary of trusting anyone with the tiniest of things. You made her that way. She told us all about her life here in Japan. It's the reason we all told her we'd come on tour with her, for the support, so that wouldn't have to be alone when she ran into you all again. We were a little delayed and couldn't make her Canada show, but a couple of other friends took our places and helped her rock out the house." She told them. "They were going to come with us, but there isn't enough room on the plane." She told them. "It's probably a good job they didn't as they aren't nearly as convinced that you deserve a second chance as the rest of us are." She told him. "You think I'm hostile, then you don't want to meet them. Of course they're eager to meet the rest of you." She told them, turning to Jun and the others. "Especialy you four." She told them pointing to Jun, Eliza, Ryu and Len. "Although, with you two it's mainly because they can't believe that you actually wear your hair like that." She told them, smirking. They all burst out laughing at the indignant looks on the pairs faces.

Suddenly the door opened and Kelly stepped out. "Anna's awake." She announced. She stepped out of the room with Anna behind her. They all stood up, wanting to check she's alright.

She glanced around the room. "Where's Tai?" She asked, looking around.

"He's in his room with James and Lewis." Paul told her.

Anna nodded. "Good. I don't want him to be with me when I watch this. I don't want him to see me like this." She stated, moving over to the tv. She turned it on and popped the dvd in the machine. She pressed play and stood back to watch it.

'Hey Belle, I guess you've gotten by suprise if you're watching this. I know we lookedat it and youtold me that you didn't want it enough to pay all that money for it, but I wanted you to have it. I saw the smile on your face when we looked around it. So I went back and spoke to the agent. The keys are back at the house, waiting for you. I thought about bringing them with me, but I know what I'm like for losing things. You always laughed at me for it, but I figured if I lost the keys to something which cost so much money, then you wouldn't laugh as much.'

They all watched as they saw Vincent's face on the screen. Anna already had tears streaming down her face. "Why did you do that? If you hadn't an just listened to me, you'd still be here with me now." She whispered to the tv.

'Well, I'm going to be joining you soon, and no doubt we'll end up watching this with everyone else, so I won't get too sappy or else I know Lewis and James will never let me live it down, plus I know how much trouble they will get in for never having done this for Lily and Kelly.' He added laughing. 'I know you're probably going to smack me for bein so stupid as to go and buy this behind your back, but I love you so much that I want you to have everything you ever wanted, especially after what that jerk of an ex did to you. I'm so proud of how much you've grown in the years that I've known you.

From the very first time I met you when I found out you'd be my replacement partner, I knew I was in touble, you were drop dead gorgeous and had such a beautiful smile and a contagious personality. You intrigued me from the off and I've loved you since that first time we went out for take out and you left me standing in the restaurant as you laughed at me and walked off. It was the moment I knew you were a one of a kind.

I can't tell you how nervous I was when I first started goin out with you, I don't think you realise just how popular you are in the US, when I first started going out with you I got so many letters telling me that if i did anything to hurt you they would hunt me down and hurt me. People would stop me in the street to tell me not to hurt you. I was terrified, but I loved you so much that I knew I had to be with you.' He told her. 'Ok, the sappiness will stop now, I can already picture the faces on James and Lewis, and cna alredy feel the noogie that awaits me. What I'm really trying to tell you here belle, is that I love you so much that if there is anything I can do to make you just that little bit happier, you smile that little bit brighter, then I'll do it, no matter what the cost and what the stakes. Well, I'm already waiting for my thank you kiss, followed by my stupid slap, so I'l shut up now and let you get on with it, oh, by the way, I thought I should use up the video so I put some of the family video on it, just the good bits, no one's going to see the embarrassing parts, that I know you cringe over but we all just laugh at. Well, hee it comes.' He finished and sure enough it cut to the video clips. First was their 6 month anniversary when he had flown her to Paris for their date. They were sat at the top of the Eiffel tower, with the most amazing view of Paris. There was a string quartet playing next to them as they gazed into each others eyes, he had obviously edited it to cut out the sound of their conversation and just the music could be heard. Suddenly the picture changed to them on Christmas dsy, their friends around them. They were all smiling and happy, and suddenly Vincent gets down on one knee in front of a rather startled looking Anna, and he asks for her hand. They're all grinning as Anna throws her arms around him, shouting yes. Tears are streaming down Kelly's face in the video and they are in Lily's eyes but the guys are just grinning madly at both.

Anna puts her hand over her mouth as she remembers all of the occasions taking place in front of her. The sobs now wracking her whole body.

The picture changed to their wedding day. The camera trained on a nervous looking Vincent, then swivelling to look at Anna, who looked absolutely stunning and George Michael walked her down the isle, him having become a father figure in her life. She was pleased that he hadn't been insulted when she asked him, in fact he had been over the moon. Behind her walking down the isle was Lewis and Kelly, Lily and James and Avril Lavigne and Johnny, the pair having just started going out. The ceremony was beautiful and Anna looked stunning and happier than any of them could ever remember seeing her before. Jun was crying as she watched, happy that she had found her true love, but heart broken that it had been taken away from her so tragically. At the end of the ceremony the pair looked into each others eyes as Vincent lifted the veil and kissed her deeply, the church erupting in cheers all round. This time you could see everyone sobing, Lewis and James included. Something which both Anna and Vincent laughed at when they noticed, although they were starting to cry themselves, huge smiles plastered on their faces along with an expression of true love.

From there the camera zipped to a clip filmed by Vincent, which showed Anna in the late stages of pregnancy. She was laughing but was sat down. It showed Anna suddenly leaning forward, then there was a lot of jostling indicating that she had just gone into labour. In the hospital, you didn't see anything of the labour, just Vincent pacing outside then a doctor approaching them all and him racing into a nearby room, where they all saw Anna with a little baby boy in her arms, looking rather weak and tired but truly and completely happy.

From there it showed things to do with Tai mostly, his first steps, the first time he spoke, his christening, his first day at playschool, and him just playing with Anna and Vincent.

The final video was of their first, and last, family vacation. They had taken Tai for a week away in Disneyland California. He had gotten dressed up, and even Anna and Vincent got dragged into it. Tai had been obsessed with Winnie the pooh at the time, in particular, tigger, so he had a little tigger suit on. Anna and Vincent had been dressed up as Cinderella and her prince charming, they looked really good, and there was a shot of them at the end with all the disney characters around them.

The screen went black and Anna crumpled to the ground, sobbing silently, her shoulders shaking. Yoh made to comfort her but she moved away, not wanting to be near him at the moment. She did the same to everyone, even Lily and Paul. She forced herself to calm down, then went to stand in front of Tai's room. SHe stayed there, just staring at the door for several minutes, before she knocked gently and poked her head round the door.

Tai was sat on the back of Lewis as he played Horsie and let Tai ride him around the room, James telling him jokes as he went and Laughing at Lewis. Tai had a smile on his face, which grew into a large grin when he spotted Anna in the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy, but he didn't really notice that. "MUMMY!" He cried.

Anna smiled and crouched down, opening her arms wide, closing them around him in a huge comforting hug. Seeming to sense what she was about to do, Lewis and James gave her a small nod and left the room, talking to the othrs about what Tai had said, and the others telling them about what Anna had said and done and what they had all seen on the disc.

Anna kept her arms locked around Tai, almost afraid to let him go. She pulled him up and carried him over to the bed where she sat down, and placed Tai on her lap. "Sweetheart, I have something to tell you, and it's going to hurt, but you know enough about being a Shaman to know that the dead, aren't truly gone, no matter whether they are still lingering in this world or they have passed over to the next." She told him.

Tai nodded. "Has someone passed over Mummy?" He asked, innocently.

His eyes were so ignorant and unknowing that Anna felt her heart clench and shatter into tiny unfixable little pieces at having to tell him this. "Yes sweetheart, and I sorry to have to tell you that it's someone we both love and care about very deeply." She told him.

Tai looked a little upset at hearing this. "Why? Who is it?" He asked.

Anna took a deep breath. "Tai, it's Daddy." She told him gently. Tears in her own eyes again, even though she had thought she had cried all her tears.

Tears streamed down his face as the little boy sobbed into Anna's shoulder. She clung to him, wanting to absorb his grief and take it away from him so he wouldn't have to feel all the pain. "Why . . . is . . . he . . . gone?" He sobbed.

Tears leaked from her own eyes and merged with his own as she answered. "He was caught in a hurricane. He didn't wake up when the call came and his injuries were so severe that the doctors couldn't help him." She explained tearfully. Tai continued to cry into her shoulder, until Anna pulled him back slightly. "Before he died, he had this made for you." She told him, handing him the Amidamaru doll.

Tai clung to it and Anna as he continued to sob against her, afraid that if he let her go the nshe would disappear like his Daddy had. Tai cried so hard and for son long that he eventually cried himself to sleep. Anna continuing to just hold him close to her as he slept, tears running down her own face as she ran her hands through his hair. It didn't take much longer until she fell asleep herself, Tai cradled in her arms, seeking comfort in each other.

Outside the room the others were all listening as they heard Tai sobbing, a brief reprieve when Anna gave him the doll, then it started again. When they heard it stop they knew that Tai had cried himself to sleep, and expected Anna to come out shortly after. When she still hadn't emerged an hour later, Kelly went to check on her. She poked her head around the door, to find Anna asleep with the toddler in her arms, both with bright red tear tracks down their faces and a slight hitch in their breath. Tai still clutching at Anna, not wanting her to leave him.

Kelly returned a few moments later, tears in her own eyes at the grief stricken pair, now cried to sleep, and clinging to each other after their ordeal. They all turned when she shut the door. "So? Is she alright?" Lily asked, Lewis wrapping his arms around his now crying wife.

"I don't know. They've both cried themselves to sleep. Clutching at each other afraid that if they let go they'll be left alone." She told them.

They all bowed their heads, feeling their hearts go out to the pair. "Maybe you should come back another time. As you can see, this isn't really the best of times for you and Anna to get reaquainted." Lily told them, trying to control her emotions.

Jun nodded. "Of course. Tell Anna we'll come by tomorrow afternoon, and that we'll be thinking of her. She know where to find us if she needs us in the meantime." She told them. She then ushered everyone out of the room and the hotel, all of the mwalking despondantly back to the inn, where they just sat in the living room for a while before they went to bed, not a word exchanged between any of them.


	2. Chapter 2

I've just realised that I've forgotten to include the disclaimer; well, I guess that's what I get for not checking it before moving it from my memory stick, where it had been sat for over a year.

Also, I apologise for the sheer length of the first chapter, but I'm still a bit new to all of this, and hadn't figured out how to split it up.

Anyway, disclaimer : I do not own Shaman king. Or strictly come dancing, or many of the other characters in this story, well, except Tai and Vincent.

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Several hours after the gang had left and Paul had managed to convince the others that they all needed sleep as well if they were going to help Anna and Tai through this, Anna stirred and awoke, the first thing she saw being Tai, clinging to her with bright red cheeks from where he had been crying. She didn't move for a long time, just staying where she was, playing with his hair as she watched him, thinking back over all the time she had spent with her husband and all that they had done together. She knew that she needed to stay strong for Tai, this was hard enough on him as it was, but she knew that having their friends around them would help a lot. As for her tour . . . Anna sighed, not knowing whether she should just go back to the States to sort everything out there. She could go on the tour another time when she had dealt with all of this, and Tai was feeling better again. It didn't really seem right to be going out on stage and singing away when her husband had just been killed. Tears fell down her cheeks again as she thought about all that had occured in just the past few hours alone.

Tai fidgeted in his sleep, unconsciously moving closer to Anna, as if wanting to stay as close to her as possible in case he lost her, like he had in his dream. Anna gazed down at her little boy and felt her heart ache painfully. 'He's not even started school yet and already he's lost his father. This isn't right. Vincent was supposed to be here, to teach him how to ride a bike, to play baseball with him, or football. To teach him about guy stuff that I know nothing about.' She thought to herself as she wondered what their lives would be like now, and if they would manage to gain a sense of cormalcy again after losing someone they both loved so much.

Turning her head slightly, she caught sight of the clock on Tai's bedside table, wondering what time it was. '3:15am' It read in bright red lettering. Sighing, Anna turned her attention back to Tai, holding him close to her and resting her head back on his pillow, just holding him close as she thought about everything that had happened and everything that they faced in the upcoming days, weeks and months, not to mention the grieving they would have to do, Tai more so than her. She had already been messed up before, she knew that she was strong enough to get over it, but she didn't want there to be any long lasting mental trauma or something for Tai. She knew right then and there that she would do everything in her power to make sure that Tai still managed to have a happy and healthy childhood.

It wasn't until 8am that she began to hear the others moving around, and she suddenly remembered that Yoh and the others had been here last night. 'I hope they didn't stay the night' she thought to herself, not wanting to deal with all of that on top of her husbands death right now. Knowing that she needed to get up, she carefully kept Tai in her arms, wanting to make sure that she was there when he woke up, and carried him out of the room and towards the kitchen area of the suite where she found all her friends sitting. "Morning." She told them a little sadly.

They all turned to look at her, spotting Tai still asleep in her arms. Lily came over and led her towards a seat at the table, the others all sipping cups of coffee and nibbling on toast. "Morning Anna. How you doing?" Lewis asked her, not really sure what else he could say.

Anna just stared down at Tai. "I don't really know. I think I'm still trying to accept the fact that he's gone. The one person who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I don't really know what to do." She admitted to them.

"Well, you don't have to do anything if you don't want to We can postpone or cancel the tour and just fly straight back home." Paul told her gently, not wanting to push her, after all, she was a little fragile right now.

"I don't know what to do. Part of me just wants to go home, sit in the house with Tai and cry. But there's another part of me that knows this is a sellout tour and I don't want to let all those fans down. I hate letting people down." She told them.

"An, it#s totally up to you. But don't feel obligated to do anything. This is your life, and you have Tai to think about as well." Kelly added, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Anna looked up at them, and gave a small smile, so small that they could hardley see it there. But it gave them all hope that she would be able to pull through this. "What about you guys, how you doing? Sleep ok?" She asked, not really wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Well, as well as we could. We're all a little worried about you and Tai, and then the fact that your idiot of a ex is hanging around, and we're trying to come to terms with the loss of a great friend as well." James told her.

"Can I get you anything"? She asked them.

"No thanks An, but what about you? Do you want somethig to drink? Some breakfast?" Kelly asked her.

Anna just shook her head. "No thanks. I don't think I could stomach it right now." She admitted. She looked down at Tai, not noticing her friends exchange concerned looks in front of her, knowing that if she wasn't eating now then they were going to have to somewhat battle with her to eat anything else during the day.

Just then, Anna's phone began to ring. Jumping slightly, Anna grabbed it, almost hoping that last night was some horrible dream and that it was Vincent calling her. "Hello?" She greeted, a small amount of hope in her voice.

"Anna?" Came the voice of her friend George Michel at the other end. "How are you doing? I've just heard the news." He told her.

"Oh, hey G. I was kind of hoping that you were going to be Vincent. That all of this was just some horrible nightmare." She told him, tears in her eyes again, at the same time cursing herself for having gotten her hopes up just to have them stomped out again.

"Oh Anna, I'm so sorry. If I had known what he was doing I would have gone with him. Or even offered to go for him, that way he could of gone with you and Tai. I'm so sorry darling." He told her, his voice sincere.

"Thanks, I know I'm not the only one whose going to miss him. He had his own fair share of fans as well, not to mention his family. I'm just glad that I managed to convince him to make amends with them a while back. Goodness knows how they must be feeling." She told him.

"Well, they seem to be doing ok. His parents came out yesterday and made a statement to the press about what a great man he was and how he would be greatly missed by them and the rest of his family." His words seeming to have been chosen rather carefully.

"Oh? What did they say? I'm suprised they would do something like that so soon." She admitted to him.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't really their idea. A promoter has come in and is trying to milk the situation for all it's worth. They can't really see it, but this guy's ruthless and cold hearted."

"What?" Anna growled, angry at the thought that someone was trying to make money out of her husbands death. The others all turned to look at her, wondering what was going on. "How could someone even think to do a thing like that?" She exclaimed.

"I don't know An. But niether of them seem very up for it. Maybe you should give them a call or something." He suggested tentatively.

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks for the heads up G." She told her friend.

"Hey no deal. Just take care of yourself and Tai. Avril and I are going to be with you in a few hours ok? We're just boarding the jet now, so we'll give you a bell when we land ok?" He told her.

"Ok G, but you guys don't have to come all the way over here. I know you both have obligations and stuff back home." She assured him.

"No way, we're your friends, and with something this big, we want to be there by your side." He told her firmly.

Anna gave a small smile, glad that she had such good friends by her side. "Ok then G. Say hi to Avril for me and I'll see you both soon." She told him.

"Ok hun, take care." He told her before he hung up.

Anna hung up the phone and sat completely still at the table for a minute, thinking over what she had just heard. "Anna? Is everything ok?" Kelly asked her, a bit nervous about her reaction on the phone.

"I'm not sure. I need to call Vincent's parents. Something's going on." She told them, picking up the phone and dialling the number she had learnt by heart in the years that she had known them.

"Hello?" Came the shaky voice of Vincent's mother at the other end of the phone.

"Audrey? It's Anna. I'd ask how you're doing, but if it's anything like me, then it's a waste of breath." She told her.

"It's good to hear from you. How are you doing?" She asked her. Audrey was Vincents mother and both she and Anna had spent nearly a year coming up with a flawless plan to get Vincent and his father talking again. After all, no parent wanted to be out of contact with their son for so long.

Anna frowned slightly at her tone of voice, sensing that something was amiss. "I've been better. Mostly, I'm just trying to stay strong for Tai. He's been hit a little hard by all of this. He'd had a bit of a nightmare the first night he got here, and then with all that's happened to Vincent, he's clinging to me a little. Although I can't deny that I'm doing the same. Are you and Roberto doing ok?" She asked cautiously.

There was a pause at the end of the phone, during which Anna coud hear someone shouting in the background. "Well, things could be better." She admitted.

"Audrey, is something wrong there? You don't sound like yourself? Is someone doing something to you both?" She asked. There was a silence at the other end of the phone. "Ok, I'm guessing that you can't really talk so, if something is going on, tell me that you and Roberto are fine. If there isn't something going on, tell me that you've been very busy." She told her.

"You don't need to worry dear, everything is fine here." She told her.

Anna swallowed a little nervously, wondering what she should do. "Ok, does this have anything to do with this promoter guy? Just say yes or no." She instructed, carefuly to keep her voice low in case he was standing near.

"Yes."

"Ok, is he threatening either of you in any way? same answer." She asked, hoping desperately that she would say no.

"Yes."

Anna gave a small gasp, her friends becoming more alert with the direction of the conversation. "Ok, is he hurting either of you in anyway? Say of course if he's hurting both of you. Just the first, if he's hurting one of you, and don't be silly if he's not hurting either of you." She instructed her.

"Of course." Came the dreaded reply.

Anna slumped in her seat. "Ok, I want you both to be careful. Do what he wants for now. I'll sort it out, and get him out of there and away from you as quickly as possible." She assured her. "Take care Audrey. I'll speak you you soon." Anna told her, before hanging up. Anna took a deep breath, wondering what she should do.

"Anna? What's happening?" Lewis asked her.

"Audrey and Roberto are being threatened by a promo guy whose hurting them. I need to think who I can call to deal with this." She thought out loud, knowing that she couldn't call George or Avril as they were on their way to Japan to see her.

"What about Johnny? He was Vincent's best friend wasn't he? And he knows how to keep a secret." James suggested.

"Of course." She exclaimed. She quickly began dialling agian, waiting impatiently for him to pick up.

"Hello?" Came the sleepy voice at the other end.

"Johnny? It's Anna. I'm sorry to wake you but it's an emergancy." She told him.

"Sure. What's wrong?" He asked, knowing that for Anna to be calling him at this time it had to be important.

"It's Vincent's parents. They're being threatened by the promo guy, and her's hurting them both. I need you to get in touch with Donny. He's our chief security guard at the house. He'll know how to handle this." She assured him.

"Oh my god. Of course. I'll go straight away." He assured her. "How are you holding up?" He asked, already scrambling out of bed to get dressed and ready so that he could get over to the house to sort it out.

"Me? Er, well, I guess I could be a bit better. What about you?" She asked.

"I don't know. It's still kind of hard to believe that he's gone you know?" He told her, a little down.

"Yeah, I know." She told him sadly. I got a call earlier, and I thought that I was going to hear his voice at the end of the phone. I felt so stupid after I picked it up and heard George on the othr end." She told him.

He sighed. "Yeah, I keep expecting him to walk through my door and tell me to get my lazy ass out of bed." He admitted, chuckling a little.

Anna gave a small smile. "Yeah. He was like that wasn't he? Always expecting everyone else to be up when he was. Never mind the fact that he fell asleep 3 hours before you do." She added, smirking slightly.

He laughed. "Yeah." He sighed. "If only he'd told someone what he was doing, then one of us could of gone with him. He know's we never would have blabbed or anything. I can't understand why he didn't take someone with him." He sighed, sounding exasperated, obviously having played the thought over in his mind for a while.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

I know I've gone from really long, to pretty short, but I've got a little stuck. I have no idea whether Anna should stay and do the tour, but do a sort of 'Vincent dedication', or she should go back to America, and sort out Vincent's funeral and do something about his parents and what not. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
